File:Claudius_Aelianus._De_variae_historiae._1610._(cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Aelian
Sign in to saveAlso known as Claudius Ælianus, Claudius Aelianus, Ailianos, Ælian
Roman author and teacher (c.175–c.235)
OverviewAI-generated
Aelian, also known as Claudius Aelianus or Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός, was a male writer, orator, historian, and zoologist from Ancient Rome. Born in Palestrina in the year 200, he belonged to the Claudia gens and wrote in Ancient Greek. He died in Rome on January 1, 0235.
His notable works include *Ailianou Poikilē historia*, *Gli excerpta della "Historia animalium" di Eliano*, and *Æliani Variæ historiæ libri xiiii*. He is also associated with the title *Varia historia*. Described by sources such as the *Pauly–Wissowa*, *The Nuttall Encyclopædia*, and the *Encyclopædia Britannica* 11th edition, his name appears in abbreviations tables as Ael.
Synthesized by Vinony from 20 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, Europeana Sparql. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 3rd cent.
- Works
- 72
Top works
- Ailianou Poikilē historia
- Gli excerpta della "Historia animalium" di Eliano
- [Ailianou poikilēs historias vivlion prōton
- Æliani Variæ historiæ libri xiiii
- [Ailianou peri zōōn idiotētos biblia 17.]
via Open Library + Wikidata
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Ancient Rome
- Place of birth
- Palestrina
- Place of death
- Rome
- Occupation
- poet
- Languages spoken
- Ancient Greek
- Image
- Claudius Aelianus. De variae historiae. 1610..jpg
Show 9 more facts
- date of birth
- 0200-00-00
- date of death
- 0235-01-01
- birth name
- Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός
- gens
- Claudia gens
- writing language
- Ancient Greek
- entry in abbreviations table
- Ael.
- Commons category
- Claudius Aelianus
- name in native language
- Claudius Aelianus
- P13311
- Quero
Sources (6)
via Wikidata · CC0
Works in European collections
22 objects attributed to Aelian, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Imaginary likeness of Aelian from a 1610 edition of the Varia Historia Claudius Aelianus (Ancient Greek: Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός, romanized: Klaúdios Ailianós; c. 175 – c. 235 AD), commonly Aelian (/ˈiːliən/), born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus and probably outlived Elagabalus, who died in 222. He spoke Greek so fluently that he was called "honey-tongued" (μελίγλωσσος meliglossos); Roman-born, he preferred Greek authors, and wrote in a slightly archaizing Greek himself.
His two chief works are valuable for the numerous quotations from the works of earlier authors, which are otherwise lost, and for the surprising lore, which offers unexpected glimpses into the Greco-Roman world-view. De Natura Animalium is also the only surviving Greco-Roman work to name Gilgamesh.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Aelian” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.