Skólymos (Askólymbros) - common golden thistle
Name - Origin
Σκόλυμος ή ασκόλυμπρος ή σκόλυμπρος ή σκολύμπρι. A herbaceous plant with broad long leaves and yellow flowers that are edible as a vegetable when they are tender (Babiniotis 2008, entry σκόλυμπρος).
The scientific name of the species is Scolymus hispanicus (Liddell and Scott, 1996).
Functional and symbolic role
‘Skolymos’ (garlic) as a food is mentioned in a one-word reference by Clearchus of Soli, a writer of Cypriot origin who lived around the 4th c. BC.
Additional information and bibliography
‘Σκόλυμος’ (skólymos - common golden thistle) is mentioned by Clearchus of Soli (4th-3rd c. BC) in his work “Περί γρίφων” (On riddles) among other foods. The passage is quoted by Athenaeus (2nd-3rd c. AD) in his work 'Dipnosophistae'.
Athenaeus, Dipnosophistae 14.648f-649a in: Gulick, C.B. translation (1980) Athenaeus-The Deipnosophists, Loeb Classical Library vol.6. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 504.
Liddell and Scott (1996) A Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Babiniotis G. (2008), Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας. Centre for Lexicology, Athens, Greece.
Natassa Charalambous
