The symbolic meaning of the acorn – a possible interpretation

• Authors: Wacławik Maciej
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The acorn is a very popular literary and decorative motif in Greek and Roman culture that was used by many ancient authors to symbolise fertility and the possibility of creating new life. It was used as a decoration with this significance on many everyday objects, such as vessels and jewellery. The acorn was also very popular as a shape for the counterweights of Roman balances. On this group of objects, it is possible that the acorn symbolised the gods, who ensured the fairness of transactions between sellers and their customers. The gods used may have been Zeus, Hermes or Athena, with the latter being the most likely to appear.

Keywords

EN

Counterweights; acorn; symbols of fairness; Athena

• Publisher: Księgarnia Akademicka
• Journal: Studies in Ancient Art and Civilization
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 19
• Pages: 255-266

Contributors

author

Wacławik Maciej

References

• Andrew O. 1966. Greek, Roman, and Etruscan jewelry. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. New Series 24/9, 269–284.
• Bailey D. M. 1988. A Catalogue of Lamps in the British Museum 3. London.
• Bates W. 1917. Archaeological news. AJA 21/1, 91–116. BM Guide 1920. Guide to the Exhibition Illustrating Greek and Roman Life. London.
• British Museum 2014a. Steelyard Weight. Retrieved from http://www. britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/s/steelyard_weight.aspx (status as of Feb. 8th, 2015).
• British Museum 2014b. Bronze Steelyard Weight. Retrieved from http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/b/bronze_steelyard_weight.aspx (status as of Feb. 8th, 2015).
• Cirlot J. E. 1971. A Dictionary of Symbols. London.
• Ciupis A. K. 2014. Rozwój form naszyjnika greckiego. (Unpublished MA thesis). Krakow.
• Cook J. M. and Blackman D. J. 1964–1965. Greek archaeology in western Asia Minor. AR 11, 32–62.
• Corti C. 2001. Pesi e contrappesi. In C. Corti and N. Giordani (eds.), 191– 211.
• Corti C. and Giordani N. (eds.) 2001. Pondera. Pesi e misure nell’ antichità. Modena.
• Corti C., Pallante P. and Tarpini R. 2001. Bilance, stadere, pesi e con- trappesi nel Modenese. In C. Corti and N. Giordani (eds.), 271–313.
• Deane S. 1924. Archaeological news. AJA 28/3, 327–355.
• Fehrle E. 1937. Beinamen des Zeus. In W. H. Roscher (ed.), vol. 6, 592– 671.
• Franken N. 1992. Die Athena- Minerva-Büste von Mittelstrimmig. Kreis Cochem-Zell Jahrbuch 1992, 217–218.
• Franken N. 1993. Zur Typologie der antiken Schnellwaage. Bonner Jahrbücher 193, 69–120.
• Franken N. 1994. Aequipondia: figü rliche Laufgewichte rö mischer und frü hbyzantinischer Schnellwaagen. Alfter.
• Hammond N. 1991. The Royal Tombs at Vergina: evolution and identities. The Annual of the British School at Athens 86, 69–82.
• Higgins R. A. 1980. Greek and Roman Jewellery. London.
• Hill D. K. 1952. When Romans went shopping. Archaeology 5/1, 51–55.
• Ignatiadou D. 2011. ΜΘ 5151. In D. Ignatiadou and E.-B. Tsigarida, Golden Wreaths and Diadems. (Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki 7, cat. no. 11). Thessaloniki.
• Imhoof-Blumer F. and Keller O. 1899. Tier- und Pflanzenbilder auf Münzen und gemmen des klassischen Altertums. Leipzig.
• Karydas N. 1998. Χάλκινος καμπάνος (καντάρι) από παλαιοχριστιανική ἐπαυλή της Θεσσαλονίκης / A bronze steelyard from an early Christian villa in Thessaloniki. Μουσείο Βυζαντινού Πολιτισμού / Museum of Byzantine Culture 5, 36–49.
• Kristensen W. B. 1960. The Meaning of Religion: Lectures in the Phenomenology of Religion. The Hague.
• MANdN 2014. Archaeological Object: Statue of Ephesus Artemis. Retrieved from http://cir.campania.beniculturali.it/museoarcheologiconazionale/thematic-views/image-gallery/RA94?set_language=en (status as of Feb. 8th, 2015).
• Megaw A. 1956. Archaeology in Cyprus, 1956. AR 3, 24–31.
• Mellink M. 1964. Archaeology in Asia Minor. AJA 68/2, 149–166.
• Michon E. 1918. S.v. Libra. In C. Daremberg and E. Saglio (eds.), Dictionnaire des antiquités greques et romaines 3/2, 1222–1231. Paris.
• Monaco D. 1907. Handbook of the Antiquities in the Naples Museum.Naples.
• Moushmov N. 1912. Ancient Coins of the Balkan Peninsula and the Coins of the Bulgarian Monarchs. Retrieved from http://wildwinds.com/moushmov/index.html (status as of Feb. 21st, 2015).
• Myres J. L. 1899. A Catalogue of the Cyprus Museum. Oxford.
• Papuci-Władyka E., Machowski W. and Miszk Ł. in collaboration with M. Biborski, J. Bodzek, A. Dobosz, M. Droste, M. Kajzer, E. Marzec, K. Nocoń, K. Rosińska-Balik and M. Wacławik forthcoming. Paphos Agora Project (PAP) 2011–2014: first preliminary report on excavations by Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland (with Appendix 1: Preliminary observations on animal remains from Krakow University excavations at the agora of Nea by P. Croft). RDAC (New Series 2, 2015).
• Papuci-Władyka E. and Wacławik M. forthcoming. A bronze Roman steelyard with an acorn-shaped weight from the Jagiellonian University excavations at the Paphos agora.
• Rich A. 1875. S.v. Corona. In W. Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 359–363. London.
• obinson F. W. 1951–1952. Recent acquisitions of ancient and Medieval art. Bulletin of The Detroit Institute of Arts 31, 58–80.
• Roscher W. H. (ed.) 1884. Ausfuhrliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie. Leipzig.
• Ruxer M. 1938. Historya naszyjnika greckiego, vol. 1. Poznań.
• Tarbell F. 1909. Catalogue of bronzes, etc. Field Museum of Natural History 130, 93–144. (Anthropological Series 7/3). Chicago.
• Tsigarida E.-B. 1994. The gold finds. In S. Drougou, Ch. Saatsoglou-Paliadeli, P. Faklaris, A. Kottaridou and E.-B. Tsigarida (eds.), Vergina. The Great Tumulus. Archaeological Guide, 85–97. Thessaloniki.
• Vermule C. C. 1960. New Near-Eastern, Greek and Roman sculptures in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. CJ 56/1, 1–16.
• Wacławik M. forthcoming. Looking for lost weight. In M. Kajzer, Ł. Miszk and M. Wacławik (eds.), The Land of Fertility. The South-East of the Mediterranean from the Beginning of The Bronze Age to the Muslim Conquest. Proceedings from the 1st International Post-graduate Conference. Krakow, Cambridge.
• Walters H. 1899. Catalogue of the Bronzes, Greek, Roman and Etruscan in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities in the British Museum. London.
• Waser O. 1937. Zeus in der Kunst. In W. H. Roscher (ed.), vol. 6, 702– 757.
• Weber H. C. and Kendzior B. 2006. Flora of the Maltese Islands: a Field Guide. Weikersheim.
• Wroth W. 1892. Catalogue of Greek Coins of Mysia. London.
• Zahn R. 1913. Zwei neue Schnellwagen im Antiquarium. Amtliche Berichte aus den Königlichen Kunstsammlungen 35/1, 1–10.

Identifiers

DOI

10.12797/SAAC.19.2015.19.12