Acanthus, a town of Egypt, near Memphis, (Pliny); now Bifalata. Also a maritime town of Macedonia, to the west of Mount Athos; a colony of Andrians (Thucydides, Ptolemy); now Erifilo; near which was thrown Xerxes's ditch, of seven stadia, in order to separate Mount Athos from the continent, and convey his flims, without doubling Athos, into the Sinicite bay. Acanthus is also a town of Epirus.