Onycha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the snail product. For the town in Alabama, see Onycha, Alabama.

Onycha, or Blatta Byzantina, is the fingernail-like operculum, or closing flap, of certain snails, including Onyx marinus, Strombus lentiginosus, and Unguis odoratus. It is the upper part of a shell called by the Latins Conchylium.

These shells may be of different sizes, but their overall shape is that of a claw, which is the origin of the name Unguis odoratus. The name Blatta Byzantina is occasioned by its being usually brought from Constantinople, the ancient Byzantium.

In antiquity, onycha was used as a spice or fragrance. Rubbed with an alkali solution prepared from the bitter vetch to remove impurities, it was then soaked in the fermented berry juice of the Caper shrub, or a strong white wine, in order to enhance its fragrance.

Onycha, along with equal parts of stacte, galbanum, and frankincense was a pungent component of the holy incense used in the temple in Exodus.[1] Such formulas for holy incense and oil were not to be duplicated for nonsacred use.[2]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Notes
  1. ^ Exodus 30:34-36.
  2. ^ Exodus 30:33, 37-38.
General references
  1. This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.
  2. "Onycha". Navigating the Bible II. World ORT. URL accessed 2006-05-20.