Μελιττῶν ἀγρίων (PHOT. BIBL. 94.3): ¿ABEJAS O AVISPAS EN BABILONÍACAS DE JÁMBLICO? Μελιττῶν ἀγρίων (PHOT. BIBL. 94.3): BEES OR WASPS IN IAMBLICHUS’S BABYLONIAN STORIES?
Article Sidebar
Published:
Dec 30, 2017
Main Article Content
Abstract
The nature and diet of the apiform insects in Iamblichus’s novel Babylonian Stories (Phot. Bibl. 94.3) are unclear. The present paper concludes that they are an entomologically non-realistic, literary mixture of bees and wasps, perhaps patterned after the τενθρηδών, with which Iamblichus’s insects share the name ἀγρία μέλισσα. Iamblichus may have been inspired by the description of the ferocious Hyrcanian τενθρηδόνες in Clitarchus’s History of Alexander. There is no need to emend the text of fr. 14 B. (=16 H.) from Iamblichus’s Babylonian Stories.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Article Details
Section
Articles
Authors who publish with Littera Aperta agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).