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Orient and Occident
(656 words)

[German version]

The designations 'Orient (Or.)' and 'Occident (Oc.)', as regions of the world, are based on the compass directions in which they are located. These in turn were named after sunrise (ἀνατολή/anatolḗ, 'sunrise', cf. 'Anatolia'; Lat. sol oriens) and, by analogy with this, sunset (δύσις/dýsis, Lat. sol occidens). Homer had already used these phenomena to determine a primary east-west axis for recording and describing the world (Od. 10,190-192), which differed from that used in Egypt that was based on the direction of the flow of …

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Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld), “Orient and Occident”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e900620>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510



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