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Ἀκροστόλια · stemposts, sternposts (α 1017) · Suda

Letters

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω

Near α1017

α1013I hearken to
α1014on tip-toe
α1015acropolis
α1016in the ranges, in lofty places
α1017stemposts, sternposts
α1018precarious
α1019precarious
α1020fag-end word
α1021cut-off, sharp, abrupt

Suda/Α alpha/α1017

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Ἀκροστόλια

stemposts, sternposts

Translated by Jennifer Benedict15 Mar 2000Vetting: high15 revisions

botany
definition
geography
historiography
history
military affairs
+2
- science and technology
- trade and manufacture

2 notes · 48 words

Translation

[Meaning] the topmost parts of the ship.¹
"Bringing round and bending the front parts of the raft gently upward into the shape of a prow, as if [they were] improvising [the] stemposts and beaks of a ship".²
And Arrian [writes]: "and the golden sternposts of the imperial ship".³

Greek original · Adler’s text

Ἀκροστόλια· τὰ ἄκρα τῆς νηός. τὰ δὲ ἐμπρόσθια τῆς σχεδίας ἠρέμα πρὸς τὸ μετέωρον ἐς πρώρας τύπον περιαγαγόντες καὶ ὑποκάμψαντες, ὥσπερ ἀκροστόλια νηὸς καὶ προέμβολα ἐκμιμησάμενοι. καὶ Ἀρριανός· τά τε ἀκροστόλια τῆς βασιλίδος νηὸς χρυσᾶ.

Betacode

*)akrosto/lia: ta\ a)/kra th=s nho/s. ta\ de\ e)mpro/sqia th=s sxedi/as h)re/ma pro\s to\ mete/wron e)s prw/ras tu/pon periagago/ntes kai\ u(poka/myantes, w(/sper a)krosto/lia nho\s kai\ proe/mbola e)kmimhsa/menoi. kai\ *)arriano/s: ta/ te a)krosto/lia th=s basili/dos nho\s xrusa=.

Notes (2)

[1] See already alpha 953. The stem- and sternposts at the extremities of a ship were often fitted with decorative cap-pieces; cf. Casson (86 with n.49).
2Agathias, Histories 5.21; again, more briefly, at pi 2385. Unable to penetrate the long wall at the base of the Thracian Chersonese (the present-day Gallipoli Peninsula, Barrington Atlas map 51 grid H3, cf. chi 215), defended by the young Byzantine military leader Germanus in 559 CE, the invading force of Kotrigur Huns built a flotilla of four-man rafts out of bundled sheaves of reeds (cf. kappa 2274) for an amphibious assault on the peninsula's southwest coast; cf. Frendo (157-159). Casson observes (12-13) that reed watercraft were used in the Nile Valley since at least the middle of fourth millenium BCE. ↩
3Part of Arrian FGrH 156 F154 (from the Parthica); cf. nu 69.

References

L. Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, (Baltimore & London 1971)
J.D. Frendo, trans., Agathias: The Histories, (Berlin 1975)

Linked from3 entries

α953Ἄκρα κόρυμβαhigh-points; fruit-clusters[Meaning] the high-posts of ships, the parts projecting out at the stern or prow. [The places] on which they used to draw/inscribe the totems. Korumboi [are] berries which hang on the branches in grape-cluster fashion,…
α2798Ἀνύτεινto accomplish[Meaning] to fulfill, to be effective. "Since the barbarians were not able to accomplish anything further, either as in a siege sitting on the breastwork or pressing on to a battle on the walls, they determined to make…
ε85Ἐγκαινίδεςgunwales[Meaning] some part [sic] of a ship. "Placing straight timbers just like thwarts and gunwales above cross-wise -- not all throughout but only at the ends and in the very middle -- tightening them in with bonds."

Neighbouring entries

α1015Ἀκρόπολιςacropolis α1016Ἀκροπόλοισινin the ranges, in lofty places α1017Ἀκροστόλιαstemposts, sternposts α1018Ἀκροσφαλεῖςprecarious α1019Ἀκροσφαλεῖςprecarious

Revision history15 revisions · last 21 Nov 2023

21 Nov 2023tweak n.2 — Ronald Allen
1 Oct 2023expanded n.1 and n.2, rearranged bibliography — Ronald Allen
18 Sep 2023augmented n.2, added cross-reference — Ronald Allen
17 Sep 2023tweaked headword and translation after discussion with Managing Editor Catharine Roth — Ronald Allen
17 Sep 2023expanded n.2, added to bibliography, added cross-references, added keywords, added map reference — Ronald Allen
22 May 2015 — David Whitehead
27 May 2013 — David Whitehead
24 Apr 2012coding — Catharine Roth
1 Feb 2012tweaks — David Whitehead
10 Aug 2009modified tr; other cosmetics — David Whitehead
5 Jun 2002augmented notes and keywords — David Whitehead
26 Jan 2001 — David Whitehead
26 Jan 2001modified translation; added notes, bibliography, and keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
—
—
15 Mar 2000Translated — Jennifer Benedict

Cite this entry

Suda On Line, s.v. Ἀκροστόλια (Adler number alpha 1017), trans. Jennifer Benedict, 15 Mar 2000. https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/alpha/1017

Translation by Jennifer Benedict for Suda On Line, revised by Ronald Allen, David Whitehead, Catharine Roth, , licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Shown unchanged, under the same licence, non-commercially. Original on SOL ↗