ἀκταία <Iranian?; Hellenistic period>
👉 ἀκταία f. ‘a Persian robe’ (Democritus of Ephesus ap. Ath. 12.29/525d).
⚠ Democritus of Ephesus ap. Ath. 12.29/525d-e) describes this robe as follows: ἴδοι δ' ἄν τις, φησίν, καὶ τὰς καλουμένας ἀκταίας, ὅπερ ἐστὶ καὶ πολυτελέστατον ἐν τοῖς Περσικοῖς περιβλήμασιν. ἐστὶν δὲ τοῦτο σπαθητὸν ἰσχύος καὶ κουφότητος χάριν· καταπέπασται δὲ χρυσοῖς κέγχροις· οἱ δὲ κέγχροι νήματι πορφυρῷ πάντες εἰς τὴν εἴσω μοῖραν ἅμματ' ἔχουσιν ἀνὰ μέσον. – “You could also see (scil. in Ephesus), he (scil. Democritus) says, what are referred to as aktaiai; this is the most expensive type of Persian garment. It is woven compactly, to make it strong and light, and is covered with gold beads; the beads are all attached to the inside by means of a purple thread that runs through their middle.” (trans. S.D. Olson).
🅔 Possibly an Iranian word, but its etymology is problematic – perhaps a distorted Old or early Middle Persian word being a borrowing from Akkadian kitû(m)‘flax; linen; linen garment’; see also χιτών. Cf. the hypothesis that ἀκταία comes from the geographical name αἱ Ἀκταῖαι πόλεις (cf. ἀκταῖος, -α, -ον ‘being on the shore or coast’), which is a name of a group of Aeolic cities in Thuc. 4.52.3.
📖 Data: CDA: 165; CAD: VIII, 473-475. Ref.: cf. Brust 2008: 65.