Acanthus Motif – Greek Origins and Meanings

 

 

The Greeks have regarded the acanthus as a symbolic, medicinal and healing plant since the times of the ancients.

The acanthus, a hardy flowering perennial plant, sometimes also referred to as “bear’s breeches” and “sea dock”, native to the Mediterranean and parts of Asia, is large leafy plant with spiny leaves.

 

 

The acanthus has the ability to thrive in a number of diverse locations; be it at the top of a rocky mountain or along the sea shore.

It pops up every year and everywhere, without needing to be reseeded, sending out shoots every which way that later become roots which make their way to the surface to become yet larger, leafy plants.

It’s owing to the plant’s resilience that the acanthus came to symbolize endurance and rebirth.

 

Symbolism and Meaning of the Acanthus

 

 

In Mediterranean countries, the acanthus represents endurance and immortality, a plant which brings both good luck and good health.

However, in the Christian Church it’s thought to signify pain, sin, punishment and death.

Although, saying that, wearing a crown made from jagged acanthus leaves, was said to confirm that the wearer had beaten some form of terrible hardship or curse.

In fact, in the bible, Genesis 3: 18 states:

“Thorns and thistles shall bring forth for thee”, meaning suffering had been transformed to victory.

The acanthus, in ancient Greece a symbol of immortality and resurrection has been used as a decorative motif since 500 B.C., inspiring many artists, sculptors and architects.

It’s thanks though, to 1st century BC, Roman architect and engineer, Vitruvius, for telling us, in his book the “Treatise De Architectura (On Architecture)”, a handbook for Roman architects, the story of how sculptor Callimachus was inspired to create the Corinthian capital.

 

Vitruvius and the Legend of Callimachus

 

 

 Legend has it that Callimachus, a Greek architect and sculptor, working in the second half of the 5th century BC, was so moved by the sight of a bunch of acanthus leaves crowning the grave of a young girl, it inspired him to reproduce them as the decoration for the capital of a column.

The nursemaid of a young girl, who had recently passed away, had placed a basket filled with the girls most loved items close by to her grave where acanthus happened to be growing.

To prevent the wind blowing the basket over the nursemaid had weighted it down with a tile.

With time, the acanthus shoots had sprouted and eventually, instead of growing upwards, as they were hindered by the tile, they began to gracefully cascade around the sides of the basket.

The sight inspired the passing Callimachus to create the now famous capital for the pillars at Corinth.

 

 

Acanthus and Architecture

 

 

When you look at any classical-style building today, anywhere in the world, you’re sure to spot an acanthus leaf somewhere, be it on the capital of a Corinthian column or murals and borders of many a Greek ruin.

Acanthus also swirls over William Morris fabric and decorates numerous pieces of sophisticated furniture.

 

 

Depictions of acanthus began appearing in architecture around 450 BC., adorning the tops of columns (the capital).

These columns, named for the Greek city-state of Corinth, came to be known as the Corinthian order, one of the three types of Greek columns, the other two being Ionic and Doric.

 

 

One of the best examples of the Corinthian order is to be seen supporting the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens.

 

 

Another example, the oldest known use of acanthus in architecture, is on the capitals of the Corinthian columns of the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae in Arcadia.

 Known as “The Parthenon of the Peloponnese”, the Temple of Apollo Epicurius, built in the mid-5th century B.C, since 1987, stands inside a giant protective tent.

 

 

 

 

The Temple of Apollo Epicurius, is the only Greek temple to have included all three ancient orders in its design: Doric for the exterior, Ionic for the interior and a lone Corinthian column which marked the entrance.

Even though the acanthus leaves were first used in Greek architecture, namely the Corinthian column, which was also created by a Greek, it wasn’t until the Roman period was in full swing that acanthus leaves became a prominent symbol in the decoration of capitals and other Roman architectural structures.

 

 

This was maybe because, in Greece, the Ionic and Doric orders of Architecture seemed to be the order of the day; keeping things simple.

Later the Romans used the motif in their Composite order, where capital of the column is a three-dimensional combination of spirals resembling rams’ horns and prominent acanthus leaves.

 

 

The Anthemion Motif

 

 

An anthemion is a design of radiating petals, remodeled by the ancient Greeks from the palmette, where instead of incorporating honeysuckle or lotus petals, used by the Egyptians and Asiatic countries, acanthus petals were used.

 

 

 

Originally the ancient Greeks decorated only pottery with the Anthemion, however, it was soon to be found on buildings as a decorative border created from a continuous line, shaped into a repeated motif or in single form appearing on decorative pedestals, roofs and headstones.

 

 

Acanthus in Greek Mythology:

 Acantha the Nymph

 

 

According to Greek mythology, the nymph Acantha, was transformed into an acanthusplant by the God of light, Apollo, as punishment, after she rejected his unwanted amorous advances and viscously scratched his face.

However, Apollo was not expecting what happened next; from the spiny, jagged leaves, unfolded the most exquisite flower, symbolizing new life and growth.

 

Timeless Design

 

Along with the Greek Key, a much more simple design, the acanthus is one of the most recognizable ancient Greek motifs to be found decorating not only ancient ruins but newly constructed buildings worldwide.

Both designs are truly timeless.