Man and Animal in Severan Rome: The Literary Imagination of Claudius Aelianus (Greek Culture in the Roman World)
By
Steven D. Smith (Author)
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Description
The Roman sophist Claudius Aelianus, born in Praeneste in the late second century CE, spent his career cultivating a Greek literary persona. Aelian was a highly regarded writer during his own lifetime, and his literary compilations would be influential for a thousand years and more in the Roman world. This book argues that the De natura animalium, a miscellaneous treasury of animal lore and Aelian's greatest work, is a sophisticated literary critique of Severan Rome. Aelian's fascination with animals reflects the cultural issues of his day: philosophy, religion, the exoticism of Egypt and India, sex, gender, and imperial politics. This study also considers how Aelian's interests in the De natura animalium are echoed in his other works, the Rustic Letters and the Varia Historia. Himself a prominent figure of mainstream Roman Hellenism, Aelian refined his literary aesthetic to produce a reading of nature that is both moral and provocative. Worked examples or Exercises; 11 Halftones, unspecified; 11 Halftones, black and white
About the Author
Steven D. Smith is Associate Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at Hofstra University, New York. He is the author of Greek Identity and the Athenian Past in Chariton: The Romance of Empire (2007).
More Details
- Contributor: Steven D. Smith
- Imprint: Cambridge University Press
- ISBN13: 9781108401937
- Number of Pages: 320
- Packaged Dimensions: 152x230x16mm
- Packaged Weight: 470
- Format: Paperback
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press
- Release Date: 2017-04-06
- Series: Greek Culture in the Roman World
- Binding: Paperback / softback
- Biography: Steven D. Smith is Associate Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at Hofstra University, New York. He is the author of Greek Identity and the Athenian Past in Chariton: The Romance of Empire (2007).
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