More than one of these 7 encyclopedias carries each of the following subjects — but every one of them treats it in a sentence or two and then moves on. They are gathered here so the different accounts can sit side by side.
Abracadabra
An Encyclopaedia of Occultism: A magical word said to be formed from the letters of the abraxas, and written thus: or the reverse way. The pronunciation of this word, according to Julius Africanus, was equally efficacious either way. By Serenus Sammonicus it was used as a spell to cure asthma. Abracalan or aracalan is another form of the word, and is said to have been regarded as the name of a god in Syria and as a magical symbol by the Jews. But it seems doubtful whether the abracadabra, or its synonyms, was really the name of a deity or not. (See Abraxas .)
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a magical word among the ancients, recommended as an antidote against several diseases. It was to be written upon a piece of paper as many times as the word contains letters, omitting the last letter of the former every time, and suspended from the neck by a linen thread. It was the name of a god worshipped by the Syrians, the wearing of whose name was a sort of invocation of his aid. At present, the word is used chiefly in jest, to denote something without meaning.
Covered by An Encyclopaedia of Occultism and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Absalom
Aiton's Encyclopedia: the third son of David, King of Israel. The story of Absalom is interesting. His beauty; the affront to his sister; the slaying of his brother; his flight, exile, and recall; his burning the standing grain of his cousin Joab; Joab's intercession for him at court; his popular ways; his rebellion and foolish advisers; the adverse battle in the wood of Ephraim; his tragic death in the boughs of an old oak at Joab's hand; his burial beneath a great heap of stones, and David's grief for a favorite though disobedient son, "are they not set forth" in II Samuel, beginning at the thirteenth chapter and following? A rock-hewn sepulcher, with an attic of masonry adorned with Ionic columns and a Doric frieze, is pointed out at Jerusalem as "Absalom's Tomb." In one of his celebrated satires John Dryden pictures the Duke of Monmouth as Absalom--the type of undutiful sons, a monster of ingratitude. See David ; Jews
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the third son of David, king of Israel, remarkable for his beauty. He contrived to win the affections of the people, and then stirred up a formidable rebellion. A battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim, in which the rebels were defeated. In the flight, as Absalom was riding under a tree, he was caught in the branches, in which position Joab, the commander of David's army, thrust him through. The grief of David for his loss was excessive.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Achates
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a-ka'tez, the faithful squire and companion of Aeneas, the hero of Virgil's Aeneid, usually spoken of as "fidus Achates." These words have come to be synonymous for a faithful friend. See Aeneid
1000 Classical Characters: A friend of Aeneas , who accompanied that hero in all his wanderings, as described by Vergil, and whose fidelity was so exemplary that Fidus Achates has passed into a proverb.
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a friend of Æneas, whose fidelity was so exemplary that fidus Achates (the faithful Achates) became a proverb.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and 1000 Classical Characters and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Acheron
Aiton's Encyclopedia: ak'e-ron, in classical mythology, one of the five rivers of Hades. The Acheron was tributary to the Cocytus, the Cocytus tributary to the Styx. The name Acheron means "River of Sorrows," or "River of Eternal Woe." In the later legends, Acheron was a son of Helios and Demeter, who gave drink to the Titans during their war with Zeus. For thus aiding the enemy, he was punished by being transformed into an infernal river. The name Acheron is used figuratively to designate the whole lower world. Milton speaks of the river in the second book of Paradise Lost as "Sad Acheron of sorrow, black and deep." See Hades ; Cocytus ; Styx ; Charon
1000 Classical Characters: The name of several rivers, the most famous being that in the lower world which surrounded the domains of Pluto , and across which all souls had to pass before appearing at the throne of Pluto. Acheron is also used to designate the whole of the lower world. 2026 Editor's Note: Acheron is a river in the Epirus region of northwest Greece, not only a mythological location. In Greek mythology, Acheron is often depicted as the entrance to the Greek Underworld where souls must be ferried across by Charon, but this mythological role was inspired by and named after the actual geographical river. (Ed: BR 2026-06-03)
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the river of sorrow, which flowed round the infernal realms of Hades, according to the mythology of the ancients.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and 1000 Classical Characters and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Achilles Tendon
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a tendon, so called because, as fable reports, Thetis, the mother of Achilles, held him by that part when she dipped him in the river Styx to make him invulnerable. It is the strong and powerful tendon of the heel, which is formed by the junction of divers muscles, and which extends from the calf to the heel. When this tendon is cut or ruptured, the use of the leg is immediately lost; and, unless the parts be afterward successfully united, the patient will remain a cripple for life.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: the large cord that runs from the muscles of the calf of the leg to the heel. The name arises from a pretty little mythological story to be found in the preceding article. When a person wishes to stand on tiptoe, he shortens the muscles above this tendon, thus drawing up the heel and causing the foot to turn at the ankle and point the toe downward.
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
Aconite
Aiton's Encyclopedia: ak'o-nit, a plant of the buttercup or crowfoot family. Aconite is commonly known as monkshood and as wolfsbane. There are over twenty species, several of which grow wild in the United States. The flowers of the several species differ in color, being variously violet, yellow, and even white. The common monkshood is blue. One of the five sepals is shaped like a helmet or hood. The common aconite has roots somewhat like those of the horseradish. The leaves and roots yield a deadly poison which destroys the functions of the nervous system and produces palsy of the muscles. It acts powerfully on the heart, ultimately paralyzing it. A tincture of aconite root is made to allay neuralgic pain by producing temporary numbness. The assassins of India dipped their arrows in a preparation made from an aconite found in the Himalayas. See Poison ; Medicine ; Buttercup
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a plant of the genus acoxitum, the aconitum napellus, familiarly known as the monk's-hood, or wolf's- Jane. Its active principle, the aconitine, is a virulent poison. It is a native of Europe, and is cultivated as a garden plant for the sake of its handsome purple flowers.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia