Historiography and Mythography in the Aristotelian Mirabilia (Rutgers University Studies in Classical Humanities)

This is the first full-length volume in English that focuses on the historiographical section of the Mirabilia or De mirabilibus auscultationibus (On Marvelous Things Heard), attributed to Aristotle but not in fact by him. The central section of the Mirabilia, namely §§ 78–151, for the most part deals with historiographical material, with many of its entries having some relationship to ancient Greek historians of the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The chapters in this volume discuss various aspects of this portion of the text, including textual issues involving toponyms; possible structural principles behind the organization of this section; the passages on Theopompus and Timaeus; mythography; the philosopher Heracleides of Pontos; Homeric exegesis; and the interrelationship between pseudo-Plutarch’s On Rivers, a section of the historian Stobaeus’ Geography, and the Mirabilia. Historiography and Mythography in the Aristotelian Mirabilia is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of this text, and of Greek philosophy, historiography, and literature more broadly. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Preface 8 List of contributors 9 Introduction: Pseudo-Aristotle’s De mirabilibus auscultationibus and historiography 12 1 Islands and their marvels as structural principle in the so-called historiographical section of the De mirabilibus auscultationibus 21 2 Timaeus in pseudo-Aristotle’s De mirabilibus auscultationibus 43 3 Pseudo-Aristotle, De mirabilibus auscultationibus 122–138 and Theopompus’ Philippica 97 4 De mirabilibus auscultationibus and Heraclides of Pontus 158 5 Myth, marvels, and De mirabilibus auscultationibus 182 6 Homer and Homeric exegesis in pseudo-Aristotle’s De mirabilibus auscultationibus 115 226 7 Suspicious toponyms in the De mirabilibus auscultationibus: Textual problems, “forgeries,” and methodological issues 245 8 Ps.-Plutarch’s On Rivers, the Mirabilia, Stobaeus 4.36, and paradoxographical literature 269 Index locorum 290 Index nominum 302 Mirabilia;,Greek,mythography;,De,mirabilibus,auscultationibus;,Aristotelian,Mirabilia;,Greek,historiography;,Ancient,historiography;,Ancient,mythography;,Aristotelian,literature;,Ancient,Greek,historians;,Ancient,Greek,philosophy Mirabilia,Greek mythography,De mirabilibus auscultationibus,Aristotelian Mirabilia,Greek historiography,Ancient historiography,Ancient mythography,Aristotelian literature,Ancient Greek historians,Ancient Greek philosophy