Fourteen books of miscellaneous historical anecdotes — strange customs, unusual deaths, and remarkable coincidences. Aelian's other collection, lighter than the animal stories.
Start ReadingMiscellaneous anecdotes about famous Greeks and Romans. Remarkable deaths, unusual customs, and memorable sayings.
Stories of virtue and vice among the famous. Socrates' poverty, Alexander's ambition, Diogenes' shamelessness.
Historical curiosities: unusual laws, strange customs, and the private lives of public figures.
Anecdotes about athletes, poets, and philosophers. The personal habits of the famous, from Plato's diet to Pythagoras' clothing.
Stories from the symposium tradition. Wit, drunkenness, and the social rituals of the Greek banquet.
Political anecdotes. Tyrants, democrats, and the consequences of ambition. Moral lessons from history.
Love stories, both noble and tragic. Famous friendships and famous betrayals.
More historical miscellany. Remarkable coincidences, prophetic dreams, and the irony of fate.
Anecdotes about kings and commanders. The private virtues and vices of men who held absolute power.
Cultural history: music, art, and the customs of various peoples. Aelian's interests range freely across the ancient world.
Stories about women — queens, prophetesses, and wives — both admirable and alarming.
Education, child-rearing, and the formation of character in the Greek world.
Religion, omens, and the supernatural. Stories of divine intervention and punishment.
The final collection. More anecdotes, more curiosities. Aelian's miscellany ends as it began — one interesting story after another.