Poikile Physis

Biological literature of the Roman imperial period remains somehow underestimated. It is even quite difficult to speak of biological literature for this period at all: biology (apart from medicine) did not represent, indeed, a specific subgenre of scientific literature. Nevertheless, writings as disparate as Philo of Alexandrias Alexander, Plutarchs De sollertia animalium or Bruta ratione uti, Aelians De Natura Animalium, Oppians Halieutika, Pseudo-Oppians Kynegetika, and Basil of Caesereas Homilies on the Creation engage with zoological, anatomic, or botanical questions. Poikile Physis examines how such writings appropriate, adapt, classify, re-elaborate and present biological knowledge which originated within the previous, mainly Aristotelian, tradition. It offers a holistic approach to these works by considering their reception of scientific material, their literary as well as rhetorical aspects, and their interaction with different socio-cultural conditions. The result of an interdisciplinary discussion among scholars of Greek studies, philosophy and history of science, the volume provides an initial analysis of forms and functions of biological literature in the imperial period.