Claudius Aelianus

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Claudius Aelianus ( Greek Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός Klaúdios Ailianós , German Älian , also Ailianos von Praeneste ; * around 170 in Praeneste , today's Palestrina in Latium ; † not before 222) was a Roman sophist and teacher of rhetoric .

Life

Little is known about Älian's life. It is not known whether he came from the old Roman patrician family of the Claudians , but it is extremely unlikely: the Greek name Ailianos suggests that his family had acquired Roman citizenship at the time of the rule of the Claudian emperors and therefore had the gentile name Claudius . According to his contemporary Flavius ​​Philostratos , he was a pupil of Pausanias and acquired such an elegant command of Greek rhetoric that he was called μελίγλωσσος ("honey tongue"). According to the Lexicon Suda , which was created much later (around 970) , he is said to have held an important priesthood under Emperor Septimius Severus . In contrast to other sophists, he evidently did not travel far, but spent most of his life in Lazio. He was over 60 years old and still lived to see Elagabal's death .

Works

Title page of the Varia Historia , edition by Tanaquil Faber, 1668

Älian's works, written in classical Greek, are compilations from works of Attic literature. There are three scriptures preserved:

  • "Colorful history" (Greek Ποικίλη ἱστορία, Latin Varia historia , German mixed research ) in 14 books, with anecdotal information about peculiarities from the realm of nature and from the history of famous peoples and men. Earliest manuscript from the 10th century in Codex Ambrosianus 82 B 4 Sup.
  • "Animal stories" (Περὶ ζῴων ἰδιότητος - De natura animalium ) in 17 books, some of which have only been preserved in abbreviated excerpts, a colorful collection of stories and legends about animals. Earliest manuscript from the 10th century (Codex Parisinus suppl. 52).
  • Twenty "farmer's letters" (Ἐπιστολαὶ ἀγροικικαί - Epistulae rusticae ), collection of 20 predominantly erotic letters, the authenticity of which is doubted. The oldest manuscript is Ambrosianus graecus 81 B from the 10th century.

Writings on Providence (Περὶ προνοίας), on God's directing intervention (Περὶ θείων ἐναργειῶν) and an accusation against Elagabal are not or only fragmentarily preserved.

expenditure

  • Rudolf Hercher : De natura animalium, Varia historia, Epistolae, Fragmenta. Teubner, Leipzig 1864–1866; unchangeable Reprint Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1971.
  • Mervin R. Dilts : Claudii Aeliani Varia historia. Teubner, Leipzig 1974.
  • Pietro Luigi Leone : Claudii Aeliani Epistulae rusticae. Istituto editoriale cisalpino / La Goliardica, Milan 1974 (= Testi e documenti per lo studio dell'antichità, 43).
  • Douglas Domingo-Forasté: Claudii Aeliani epistulae et fragmenta. Teubner, Leipzig 1994, ISBN 3-8154-1005-3 .
  • Manuela García Valdés, Luis Alfonso Llera Fueyo, Lucía Rodríguez-Noriega Guillén: Claudius Aelianus: De natura animalium. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2009, ISBN 978-3-11-022005-6 .

Translations

  • Claudius Aelianus: works. JB Metzlersche Buchhandlung, Stuttgart 1839–1842, 9 volumes (1–3: Vermischte Nachrichten , translated by Christian Gottlieb Wunderlich; 4–9: Animal stories , translated by Friedrich Christian Wilhelm Jacobs ).
  • The rural letters of Claudius Aelianus Prenestinus. Translated by Franz Blei , Verlag G. Müller, Munich 1921.
  • Älian: The dancing horses of Sybaris. Animal stories. Translated by Ursula Treu and Kurt Treu , Reclam, Leipzig 1978 (= RUB 747) (selection translation)
  • Älian: Colorful stories. Translated by Hadwig Helms, Reclam, Leipzig 1990 (= Reclam Library 1351), ISBN 3-379-00598-3 .
  • Alkiphron / Älian: From Glykera's garden. Letters from fishermen, farmers, parasites, heterosexuals. Translated by Kurt Treu, 2nd ext. Ed., Reclam, Stuttgart 1982 (= RUB 55).
  • Ailianos: Mixed research. Greek and German by Kai Brodersen , Tusculum Collection, De Gruyter, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-11-057638-2 .
  • Ailianos: animal life. Greek and German by Kai Brodersen, Tusculum Collection, De Gruyter, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-11-060932-5 (complete edition with translation).
  • Claudius Aelianus. On the nature of animals - De Natura Animalium. Based on the translation by Paul-Gerhard Veh, edited and commented by Philipp Stahlhut (= Library of Greek Literature 90). Anton Hiersemann Verlag, Stuttgart 2020, ISBN 978-3-7772-1904-2 .

literature

  • Simone Follet: Ailianos de Préneste . In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Vol. 1, CNRS, Paris 1989, ISBN 2-222-04042-6 , pp. 79-81.

Web links

Wikisource: Claudius Aelianus  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Claudius Aelianus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aelian; Ailianos; Ailian; Älian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman sophist and teacher of rhetoric
DATE OF BIRTH at 170
PLACE OF BIRTH Palestrina
DATE OF DEATH after 222