Editing Claudius Aelianus (section)

==''Varia Historia''==
[[File:Claudius Aelianus Varia Historia 1668 Title page.jpg|upright|thumb|Title page of ''Varia Historia'', from the 1668 edition by [[Tanaquil Faber]]]]
''Various History'' ({{lang|grc|Ποικίλη ἱστορία}}, ''{{lang|grc-Latn|Poikílē historía}}'')&mdash;for the most part preserved only in an abridged form<ref name="EB1911"/>&mdash;is Aelian's other well-known work, a miscellany of anecdotes and biographical sketches, lists, pithy maxims, and descriptions of natural wonders and strange local customs, in 14&nbsp;books, with many surprises for the cultural historian and the [[mythographer]], anecdotes about the famous Greek philosophers, poets, historians, and playwrights and myths instructively retold. The emphasis is on ''various'' moralizing tales about heroes and rulers, athletes and wise men; reports about food and drink, different styles in dress or lovers, local habits in giving gifts or entertainments, or in religious beliefs and death customs; and comments on Greek painting. Aelian gives accounts of, among other things, [[fly fishing]] using [[Artificial fly|lures]] of red wool and feathers, [[Lacquerware|lacquerwork]], and [[Serpent (symbolism)|serpent]] worship. Essentially, the ''Various History'' is a classical "magazine" in the original sense of that word.{{Explain|date=September 2022}} He is not perfectly trustworthy in details, and his writing was heavily influenced by [[Stoicism|Stoic]] opinions,<ref>{{cite book |last=Zeyl |first=Donald |year=2013 |title=Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUGzAQAAQBAJ&q=aelian+varia+historia+correct+stoic&pg=PA6 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134270781 |access-date=30 November 2013 }}</ref> perhaps so that his readers will not feel guilty, but [[Jane Ellen Harrison]] found survivals of archaic rites mentioned by Aelian very illuminating in her ''Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion'' (1903, 1922).

''Varia Historia'' was first printed in 1545.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dilts |first=Mervin R |date=2000 |title=Claudius Aelianus: Poikiles Historias (Varia Historia), and: An English Translation of Claudius Aelianus' Varia Historia, and: Aelian: Historical Miscellany (review) |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/1256 |journal=American Journal of Philology |volume=121 |issue=2 |pages=328–331 |issn=1086-3168}}</ref> The standard modern text is that of Mervin R. Dilts (1974).{{Source needed|date=March 2025}}

Two English translations of the ''Various History,'' by Fleming (1576) and Stanley (1665) made Aelian's miscellany available to English readers, but after 1665 no English translation appeared, until three English translations appeared almost simultaneously: James G. DeVoto, ''Claudius Aelianus: Ποικίλης Ἱστορίας (''Varia Historia'')'' Chicago, 1995; Diane Ostrom Johnson, ''An English Translation of Claudius Aelianus' "Varia Historia"'', 1997; and N. G. Wilson, ''Aelian: Historical Miscellany'' in the [[Loeb Classical Library]].{{Source needed|date=March 2025}}