ĂCĪNĂCĒS (ἀκινάκης), a Persian sword, whence Horace speaks of the Medus acinaces. The acinaces was a short and straight weapon, and thus differed from the Roman sica, which was curved. It was worn on the right side of the body, whereas the Greeks and Romans usually had their swords suspended on the left side. The form of the acinaces, with the mode of wearing it, is illustrated by the following Persepolitan figures.
Acinaces, Persian Sword. (From bas-reliefs at Persepolis.)
ACISCŬLUS. [[Ascia].]
ĀCLIS, a kind of dart with a leathern thong attached to it. [[Amentum].]
ACROĀMA (ἀκρόαμα), which properly means any thing heard, was the name given to a concert of players on different musical instruments, and also to an interlude performed during the exhibition of the public games. The word is also applied to the actors and musicians who were employed to amuse guests during an entertainment, and is sometimes used to designate the anagnostae. [[Anagnostes].]
ACRŎLĬTHI (ἀκρόλιθοι), statues, of which the extremities only were of marble, and the remaining part of the body of wood either gilt or covered with drapery.
ACRŎPŎLIS (ἀκρόπολις). In almost all Greek states, which were usually built upon a hill, rock, or some natural elevation, there was a castle or a citadel, erected upon the highest part of the rock or hill, to which the name of Acropolis, higher or upper city, was given. Thus we read of an acropolis at Athens, Corinth, Argos, Messene, and many other places. The Capitolium at Rome answered the same purpose as the Acropolis in the Greek cities; and of the same kind were the tower of Agathocles at Utica, and that of Antonia at Jerusalem.
ACROSTŎLĬUM. [[Navis].]
ACRŎTĒRĬUM (ἀκρωτήριον), signifies the extremity of any thing, and was applied by the Greeks to the extremities of the prow of a vessel (ἀκροστόλιον), which were usually taken from a conquered vessel as a mark of victory: the act of doing so was called ἀκρωτηριάζειν. In architecture it signifies, 1. The sloping roof of a building. 2. The pediment. 3. The pedestals for statues placed on the summit of a pediment. In sculpture it signifies the extremities of a statue, as wings, feet, hands, &c.