Acanthus
Encyclopedia
Acanthus in its feminine form acantha (plura: acanthae), is the Latinised
form of the ancient Greek
word acanthos or akanthos, referring to the Acanthus plant. It can also be used as the prefix acantho-, meaning "thorny". It may refer to:
Latinisation (literature)
Latinisation is the practice of rendering a non-Latin name in a Latin style. It is commonly met with for historical personal names, with toponyms, or for the standard binomial nomenclature of the life sciences. It goes further than Romanisation, which is the writing of a word in the Latin alphabet...
form of the ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
word acanthos or akanthos, referring to the Acanthus plant. It can also be used as the prefix acantho-, meaning "thorny". It may refer to:
Architecture
- Acanthus (ornament)Acanthus (ornament)The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration.-Architecture:In architecture, an ornament is carved into stone or wood to resemble leaves from the Mediterranean species of the Acanthus genus of plants, which have deeply cut leaves with some similarity to...
, form in architecture and in leather carving derived from the plant
Cities
- Acanthus (Greece)Acanthus (Greece)Ierissos Modern Greek: or Acanthus was an ancient Greek city on the Athos peninsula. It was located on the north-east side of Akti, on the most eastern peninsula of Chalcidice...
, an ancient Greek city - Acanthus (Egypt)Acanthus (Egypt)Acanthus was an ancient city of Egypt, on the western bank of the Nile, 120 stadia south of Memphis. Its site is located at the modern village of Dashour. The town was in the Memphite Nome, and, therefore, in the Heptanomis. It was celebrated for a temple of Osiris, and received its name from a...
, an ancient Egyptian city - Acanthus, OntarioAcanthus, OntarioAcanthus is an unincorporated place and former railway point in geographic Deacon Township in the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District in northeastern Ontario, Canada...
, a modern Canadian town
Mythology
- AcanthaAcanthaAcantha was a minor character in Greek mythology. She was a nymph loved by Apollo, the sun god. In one version of the story, Acantha refused Apollo's advances and scratched his face when he tried to rape her. Apollo then turned her into an acanthus plant. Another version features Acantha as a...
, figure in Greek mythology associated with the plant - Acanthus, one of the sons of AutonousAutonousIn Greek mythology, Autonous was the son of Melaneus, husband of Hippodamia, was father to Anthus, Erodius, Schoenous, Acanthus and Acanthis, and an owner of a large herd of horses. The land they lived in produced no crops, but only rushes and thistles, that's why all the children of Autonous were...
who received his name after the plant, which was common in his infertile homeland
People
- Acanthus of SpartaAcanthus of SpartaAcanthus the Lacedaemonian, was victor in two footrace events, the diaulos and dolichos , in the Olympic games of 720 BC. He was also, according to some accounts, the first who ran naked in these games. Other accounts ascribe this to Orsippus the Megarian...
, an ancient athlete - Acanthus, the pen-name of the cartoonist Frank HoarFrank HoarHarold Frank Hoar, FRIBA , was a British architect, artist, academic and architectural historian. Hoar first came to public prominence when, at the age of 25, he won a competition to design the first terminal building at London's Gatwick Airport in the 1930s...
Other
- Acanthus, in entomologyEntomologyEntomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
a thorn-like projection, typically a single-celled cuticular growth without tormogen (socket) or sensory cells - Acanthus path, a fictional tradition of enchanters, magicians and witches in the game Mage: The AwakeningMage: The AwakeningMage: The Awakening is a role-playing game developed by White Wolf, Inc. and based in their World of Darkness setting. The characters portrayed in this game are individuals able to bend or break the commonly-accepted rules of reality to perform subtle or outlandish acts of magic. These characters...