A holding arrangement for an optical element, in particular for a cylindrical lens, includes a basic structure surrounding an optical element and a mounting device by which the optical element is supported on the basic structure. The mounting device has two degrees of freedom so that the optical element can be supported by the mounting device in a manner that allows the optical element to rotate about both about an optical axis and an axis perpendicular to the optical axis. If the optical element is a cylindrical lens, the axis perpendicular to the optical axis can be an axis perpendicular to an axial direction of the cylindrical lens. The disclosure further relates to a manipulator unit for an optical system which includes a holding arrangement.