Editing Acantha

{{short description|Unattested tale from Greek mythology}}
{{Other uses|Acanthus (disambiguation)}}
[[File:AcanthusmollisPalatineHill.jpg|thumb|330px|''Acanthus mollis'' on the ruins of the [[Palatine Hill]], [[Rome]].]]

'''Acantha''' ({{langx|grc|Ἀκάνθα|Akántha|thorn}}<ref>“Acantha Definition and Meaning | Collins English Dictionary.” Collins Dictionaries, 2021, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/acantha.</ref>) is often claimed to be a minor character in [[Greek mythology]] whose metamorphosis was the origin of the ''[[Acanthus (plant)|Acanthus]]'' plant.<ref name="Coulter and Turner">Coulter, Charles Russell and Turner, Patricia (2000). ''Encyclopedia Of Ancient Deities''. Routledge. pg.62. {{ISBN|1579582702}}.</ref> Acantha's myth, however, does not appear in any classical source.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.kalliergeia.com/en/acantha-and-callimachus-the-invention-of-the-corinthian-order/ | title = Acantha & Callimachus: Invention of Corinthian Order | website = kalliergeia.com | date = 8 July 2021 | access-date = May 18, 2022}}</ref>

==Mythology==
The tale supposedly goes that Acantha was a [[nymph]] loved by the god [[Apollo]]. Acantha, however, rebuffed [[Apollo]]'s continued advances and scratched his face. As a result, Apollo transformed her into the Acanthus, a plant with spiny leaves.<ref name="Beeton">[[Samuel Orchart Beeton|Beeton, Samuel Orchart]] (1871). ''Beeton's Classical dictionary''. Warwick. pg.2. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=BYIBAAAAQAAJ books.google.co.uk]</ref>

==Origin of the myth==
The story has, over the years, been retold in books,<ref name="Parley">[[Peter Parley|Parley, Peter]] (1839). ''Tales about the mythology of Greece and Rome''. [[Oxford University Press]]. pg.347</ref><ref>Gledhill, David (2008). ''The Names of Plants''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. pg.33. {{ISBN|0521685532}}.</ref> encyclopedias,<ref name="Coulter and Turner"/><ref name="Evslin">[[Bernard Evslin|Evslin, Bernard]] (2012). ''Gods, Demigods and Demons: An Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology''. Open Road Media. Acantha. {{ISBN|1453272968}}</ref> and journals.<ref>[[Charles Mackay (author)|Mackay, Charles]] (1861), ''A Weekly Journal of Fact and Fiction'', Volumes 1-13, pg.353</ref> Compilers have, however, often omitted reference to classical sources. For instance, the first edition of [[John Lemprière|John Lemprière's]] ''[[Bibliotheca Classica]]'', an early encyclopaedia of mythological figures, provides no reference for the story.<ref>[[John Lemprière|Lemprière, John]] (1788). ''Bibliotheca Classica''. T. Cadell. Acantha</ref> In the updated 1839 edition three references are given. These are to [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny the Elder's]] ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'', [[Pedanius Dioscorides]]' ''[[De Materia Medica]]'' and [[Hesychius of Alexandria|Hesychius of Alexandria's]] ''Lexicon''.<ref>[[John Lemprière|Lemprière, John]] (1839). ''A Classical Dictionary, Containing a Copious Account of All the Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors''. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=i_F5e3lnUjsC books.google.co.uk]</ref> On inspection, however, Pliny makes absolutely no reference to Acantha, Dioscorides refers only to the plant and Hesychius simply explains what the word means.<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], translation by [[John Bostock (physician)|Bostock, John]] and Riley, H.T (2009). ''Natural History''. BiblioLife. Book XXIV, Chapter 12. {{ISBN|1117234630}}. Available at [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D24%3Achapter%3D12 perseus.tufts.edu]</ref><ref>[[Pedanius Dioscorides|Dioscorides, Pedanius]] (2000). ''De Materia Medica''. Ibidis Press. Book Three, 3.14 & 3.15. {{ISBN|0-620-23435-0}}.</ref><ref>[[Hesychius of Alexandria]] (1520). ''Alphabetical Collection of All Words''. Available at [https://el.wikisource.org/wiki/%CE%93%CE%BB%CF%8E%CF%83%CF%83%CE%B1%CE%B9/%CE%91 wikisource.org]</ref> A number of latter compilers have similarly not cited classical references when retelling the myth.<ref name="Coulter and Turner"/><ref name="Beeton"/><ref name="Parley"/><ref name="Evslin"/>

The myth does not appear in the ''[[Thesaurus Linguae Latinae]]'',<ref>''[[Thesaurus Linguae Latinae]]''. Available at [http://www.degruyter.com/databasecontent?dbid=tll&dbsource=%2Fdb%2Ftll degruyter.com]</ref> a volume which includes every Latin word, including proper names.<ref>''[[Encyclopædia Britannica|Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]''. Available at [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/591803/Thesaurus-Linguae-Latinae britannica.com]</ref>  The ''[[Thesaurus Linguae Graecae]]'', a similarly comprehensive source containing a complete repository of Ancient Greek texts from [[Homer]] through to A.D. 200,<ref>Bowen, Alan C. (1988). ''Ancient Philosophy''. Volume 8, Issue 1, page 136.</ref> is also absent the myth.<ref>''[[Thesaurus Linguae Graecae]]''. Available at [http://stephanus.tlg.uci.edu/canon/fontsel stephanus.tlg.uci.edu] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20141106191933/http://stephanus.tlg.uci.edu/canon/fontsel |date=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> The story is not present in either the ''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae]]'',<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae]]''. Available a  [http://www.limc-france.fr/presentation limc-france.fr]</ref> a work praised for its breadth and quality,<ref>Hansen, William (2005). ''Classical Mythology: A Guide to the Mythical World of the Greeks and Romans''. pg.14. {{ISBN|0195300351}}</ref><ref>Hard, Robin (2008). ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology''. pg.691. {{ISBN|0415478901}}</ref> or ''[[Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft|Der Neue Pauly]]'',<ref>''[[Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft|Der Neue Pauly]]''. Available at [http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/reference-works referenceworks.brillonline.com]</ref> an encyclopaedia considered an unparalleled masterpiece of classical German scholarship.<ref>Bernhard Kytzler: ''[http://www.zeit.de/1979/06/kathedrale-der-gelehrsamkeit Kathedrale der Gelehrsamkeit.]'' In: ''Die Zeit.'' Hamburg 1979,6 (2. Febr.), S. 39. (German)</ref><ref>Wolfgang Schuller: ''Einführung in die Geschichte des Altertums.'' Ulmer, Stuttgart 1994, S. 140. (German)</ref>

Acantha's tale has lifted elements from the myth of [[Oenone (nymph)|Oenone]], a nymph who scratched Apollo's face while he raped her, as attested in the poem ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' by the Roman poet [[Ovid]]; that text however has been extended with various spurious post-Ovidian interpolations, and Oenone's rape is, like Acantha herself, otherwise unattested.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Heroides]]'' 145. The particular passage is excluded from the [[Loeb Classical Library|Loeb]] translation.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first = Sergio | last = Casali | title = Reviewing ''The Cambridge Heroides'' | journal = The Classical Journal | volume = 92 | number = 3 | date = February 1997 | pages = 305-314, 306-07}}</ref> According to [[Cicero]] a woman named Acantho became the mother of the "fourth [[Sol (Roman mythology)|sun]]" in [[Rhodes]].<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' [https://topostext.org/work.php?work_id=137#3.53 3.53]</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Syrinx]]
* [[Daphne]]
* [[Pitys (mythology)]]
* [[Hyacinth (mythology)]]
* [[Leda and the Swan]]
* [[Europa (mythology)]]
* [[Erinoma]]
* [[Ganymede (mythology)]]
* [[Clytie (Oceanid)|Clytie]]
* [[Mecon (mythology)|Mecon]]
* [[Asteria]]
* [[Myrina (priestess)|Myrina]]
* [[Lotis (mythology)|Lotis]]
* [[Orchis (mythology)|Orchis]]
* [[Amethyste]]
* [[Rhodanthe (mythology)|Rhodanthe]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{Metamorphoses in Greek mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fakelore]]
[[Category:Nymphs]]