Acesas (Greek ) was a native of Salamis in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

famed for his skill in weaving cloth with variegated patterns (''polymitarius''). Acesas and his son Helicon, who distinguished himself in the same art, are mentioned by

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

. Zenobius speaks of both artists, but says that Acesas (or, as he calls him, Aceseus, ) was a native of Patara, and Helicon of

Carystus Carystus (; el, Κάρυστος, near modern Karystos) was a polis (city-state) on ancient Euboea. It was situated on the south coast of the island, at the foot of Mount Oche. It is mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the '' Iliad' ...

. He tells us also that they were the first who made a

peplos A peplos ( el, ὁ πέπλος) is a body-length garment established as typical attire for women in ancient Greece by circa 500 BC, during the late Archaic and Classical period. It was a long, rectangular cloth with the top edge folded down a ...

for

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

Polias. While the exact time of their lives is unknown, it must have been before the time of

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

and

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

, who mention the peplos they made. A specimen of the workmanship of these two artists was preserved in the temple at Delphi, bearing an inscription to the effect that Pallas had imparted marvelous skill to their hands.

References

1st-millennium BC births 1st-millennium BC deaths Ancient Greek artists People from Salamis Ancient Cypriots Greek weavers People from Famagusta District {{AncientGreece-bio-stub