What is "dolos"

n. 1 (context South Africa uncommon English) The bones that are thrown when throwing the bones for divination. 2 (context South Africa uncommon English) The ankle bones of sheep or goats formerly used by children as playthings. 3 Interlocking blocks of concrete, used for protection of seawalls and to preserve beaches from erosion, formerly known as Merryfield blocks.

A dolos (plural dolosse- approximate translation "knuckle bones"; Afrikaans with approximate pronunciation "dohl-awe-sah") is a concrete block in a complex geometric shape weighing up to 20 tons, used in great numbers to protect harbour walls from the erosive force of ocean waves. They were developed in East London, a port city in South Africa, in 1963.

In Greek mythology, Dolos (sometimes pronounced "Dolus") is the spirit of trickery and guile. He is also a master at cunning deception, craftiness, and treachery. He is an apprentice of the titans Prometheus and Pseudologi. His female counterpart is Apate, who is the goddess of fraud and deception. He was parented by the Gaia and Ather (Hyginus Preface) or Erebos and Nyx (Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3.17). He became known for his skill when he attempted to make a fraudulent copy statue of Veritas, in order to trick people into thinking they were seeing the real statue. He ran out of the clay he was using to create the statue, and had to leave the feat unfinished as he quaked in fear while his skill-master looked over his attempt at deceitfulness. To his surprise, Prometheus was rather amazed at the similarity between the statues; Dolos then became a master at his crafty and tricky ways. There are even some stories of Dolos tricking gods into lies. His Roman equivalent is Mendacius.