acronyctus

Latin adjective
quoted from Greek

Last edited: 2024-09-23
Primary meaning in opposition to the sun
Variants
acronyctus
Edited by
in opposition to the sun astronomical term, synodic phenomenon

Stellae quinque, id est Saturnus, Iuppiter, Mars, Venus, Mercurius, matutinae sunt aut vespertinae aut occiduales aut absconsae, quae a Graecis afaneis et synodicae dicuntur, aut acronyctae.

‘The five planets, that is, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, are either matutine, vespertine, setting, or hidden (by the Sun's rays). These the Greeks call afaneis (hidden), synodicae (in conjunction with he sun), or acronyctae (at nightfall).’

— Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis 2.8.1

Genre: astrological compendium
Provenance: Sicily
Date: ca. 334 CE

Firmicus Maternus. 1897. Ivlii Firmici Materni Matheseos Libri VIII, ed. W. Kroll, F. Skutsch. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. 1.50

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). acronyctus (Lemma #952). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/952/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). acronyctus (Lemma #952). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/952/
MLA (9th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). acronyctus (Lemma #952). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/952/
Harvard
Meinhardt, K. (2024) acronyctus (Lemma #952), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/952/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac952,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2024},
	title = {acronyctus ({Lemma} #952)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/952/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/952/},
}