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acanthus
Any of the plants that make up the family Acanthaceae, of the figwort order, found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Most are herbaceous plants or shrubs; some are climbers (vines) or trees. Most grow in damp tropical forests. Acanthus have simple leaves arranged in opposite pairs on the twigs, enlarged cells called cystoliths in streaks or protuberances in the vegetative parts, and bilaterally symmetrical, bisexual flowers usually crowded together in clusters and individually enclosed by leaflike bracts, often colored and large. They are mainly of horticultural interest and include some ornamentals.


Lacan
French psychoanalyst. A practicing psychiatrist in Paris for much of his career, Lacan emphasized the primacy of language as the mirror of the unconscious mind and introduced the study of language into psychoanalytic theory. His major achievement was his reinterpretation of S. Freud's work in terms of structural linguistics. He became a celebrity in France with \u00c9 crits (1966; The Language of the Self) and in the 1970s was a dominant figure in French cultural life as well as a strong influence on Amer. psychoanalytic and literary theory.


Lacandon
Maya Indians who live in a rich tropical rain forest on the Mexico-Guatemala border. Largely isolated, they maintained a primitive way of life until recently. They fish, hunt, and grow vegetables and fruits. They spin fibers and weave cloth, tan leather, and make pottery, flutes, dugout canoes, and nets. They have preserved their traditional beliefs. They were swept up into the 1994 Chiapas revolt. Their total number is less than 600 and declining.


Taranto
Seaport (metro. area pop., 1996 est.: 212,000), Puglia region, SE Italy. Located on the Gulf of Taranto, the old city is on a small island, with newer areas on the adjacent mainland. Founded by Greeks from Sparta in the 8th cent. BC, it was called Taras and became one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia. It reached its zenith in the 4th cent. BC under Archytas. It came under Rome in 272 BC. Between the 5th-11th cent. AD it was taken by the Goths, Byzantines, Lombards, Arabs, and Normans. By the 15th cent. it was part of the kingdom of Naples. Part of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies from 1815, it joined the kingdom of Italy in 1861. It was an important stronghold of the Italian Navy in both world wars; it was heavily bombed in 1940 and was occupied by British forces in 1943. Still an important naval base, it is the site of extensive shipyards and a large iron- and steel-works.


Vaganova
Russian ballet dancer and teacher who developed a system of ballet instruction that combined classic technique with the athletic, acrobatic post-Revolution style. In 1897 she joined the Mariinsky Theater company, where she worked until 1917. She began teaching at the Leningrad Choreographic (formerly Imperial Ballet) school in 1921 and became its ...

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