City of the Violet Crown
Encyclopedia
City of the Violet Crown is a term used to describe different cities:
It was long believed to have originated in O. Henry
's story "Tictocq: The Great French Detective, In Austin", published in his collection of short stories The Rolling Stone published October 27, 1894.
- Athens, Greece
- In one of his surviving fragments (fragment 64), the lyric poet PindarPindarPindar , was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian described him as "by far the greatest of the nine lyric poets, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich...
wrote of Athens:
- The climate of AtticaAtticaAttica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
is characterised by low humidity and a high percentage of dust in the air, which make sunsets display hues of violet and purple and the surrounding mountains often appear immersed in a purple haze.
- In Geoffrey TreaseGeoffrey TreaseGeoffrey Trease was a prolific writer, publishing 113 books between 1934 and 1997 . His work has been translated into 20 languages...
's novel The Crown of Violet, the name is explained as referring to the mauveMauveMauve is a pale lavender-lilac color, one of many in the range of purples. The color mauve is named after the mallow flower....
-tinted marble of the AcropolisAcropolis of AthensThe Acropolis of Athens or Citadel of Athens is the best known acropolis in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification...
hill.
- Austin, TexasAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
- According to the City of Austin'sAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
History Center, the phrase first appeared in The Austin American Statesman on May 5th, 1890.
It was long believed to have originated in O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
's story "Tictocq: The Great French Detective, In Austin", published in his collection of short stories The Rolling Stone published October 27, 1894.
- In chapter 2 of Tictocq, O. Henry writes:
- The phrase is generally thought to refer to the atmospheric phenomenon more commonly known as the Belt of VenusBelt of VenusThe Belt of Venus or Venus's Girdle is the Victorian-era name for an atmospheric phenomenon seen at sunrise and sunset. Shortly after sunset or shortly before sunrise, the observer is, or is very nearly, surrounded by a pinkish glow or antitwilight arch that extends roughly 10°–20° above the horizon...
. The phrase is also said to be connected to the moonlight towerMoonlight towerMoonlight towers are lighting structures designed to illuminate areas of a city at night.The structures were popular in the late 19th century in cities across the United States and Europe; they were most common in the 1880s-1890s...
s of Austin.
- Another explanation: during the 19th century, residents began to call Austin the "Athens of the South" for its university. With his sly reference to the poetry of Pindar, O. Henry may have been satirizing Austin's ambitious claim of a cultural link to ancient Athens.