Aulus Gellius

Aulus Gellius
Frontispiece to a 1706 Latin edition of the Attic Nights

Aulus Gellius (ca. 125 AD—after 180 AD), was a Latin author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome, where he held a judicial office. He is famous for his Attic Nights, a commonplace book, or compilation of notes on grammar, philosophy, history, antiquarianism and other subjects, preserving fragments of many authors and works who otherwise might be unknown today.

Contents

Life

The only source for the life of Aulus Gellius are the details recorded in his writings.[1] He was of good family and connections, possibly of African origin,[2] but he was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He traveled much, especially in Greece, and resided for a considerable period in Athens.[1] He studied rhetoric under Titus Castricius and Sulpicius Apollinaris; philosophy under Calvisius Taurus and Peregrinus Proteus; and enjoyed also the friendship and instruction of Favorinus, Herodes Atticus, and Fronto.[1]

He returned to Rome, where he held a judicial office.[3] He was appointed by the praetor to act as an umpire in civil causes, and much of the time which he would gladly have devoted to literary pursuits was consequently occupied by judicial duties.[1] The precise date of his birth, as of his death, is unknown; but from the names of his teachers and companions, he must have lived under Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius.[1]

Writings

His only known work, the Attic Nights (Latin: Noctes Atticae), takes its name from having been begun during the long nights of a winter which he spent in Attica.[3] He afterwards continued it in Rome.[3] It is compiled out of an Adversaria, or commonplace book, in which he had jotted down everything of unusual interest that he heard in conversation or read in books, and it comprises notes on grammar, geometry, philosophy, history and many other subjects.[3] One story is the fable of Androcles, which is often included in compilations of Aesop's fables, but was not originally from that source.

The work, deliberately devoid of sequence or arrangement, is divided into twenty books.[3] All these have come down to us except the eighth, of which nothing remains but the index.[3] The Attic Nights are valuable for the insight they afford into the nature of the society and pursuits of those times, and for its many excerpts from works of lost ancient authors.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Ramsay, William (1867), "A. Gellius", in Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 2, Boston, p. 235, http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1343.html 
  2. ^ Leofranc Holford-Strevens, (2003), Aulus Gellius: an Antonine scholar and his achievement, pages 13-15
  3. ^ a b c d e f g  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Aulus Gellius". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Aulus_Gellius. 

References

Further reading

  • Anderson, G. "Aulus Gellius: A Miscellanist and His World," in Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt. Bd. II.34.2. (Berlin, 1994), 1834-1862.
  • Lakmann, Marie-Luise, Der Platoniker Tauros in der Darstellung des Aulus Gellius (Leiden, Brill, 1994) (Philosophia Antiqua, 63).
  • Leofranc Holford-Strevens, Aulus Gellius. An Antonine Scholar and his Achievement. Rev. ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).
  • The Worlds of Aulus Gellius, edd. Leofranc Holford-Strevens and Amiel Vardi (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004).
  • Keulen, Wytse, Gellius the Satirist: Roman Cultural Authority in Attic Nights (Leiden, Brill, 2008) (Mnemosyne Supplements, 297).

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Aulus Gellius — (durch die Zeit des Mittelalters auch irrtümlicherweise als Agellius bekannt) ist ein lateinischer Schriftsteller des 2. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. und schrieb das Werk Noctes Atticae. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Noctes Atticae 2.1 Entstehung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • AULUS Gellius — Auctor noctium Atticarum, xixit saeculô 2. inchoante, Athenis. Opus eius syntagma ingeniosum est variarum rerum, Criticam inprimis Auctorum spectantium. Volaterran. Anthrop. l. 16. Vignier. A. C. 128 …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Aulus-Gellius — Aulu Gelle Aulu Gelle (en latin Aulus Gellius) est un grammairien et compilateur romain (v. 115 120 – 180). Biographie Riche érudit, Aulu Gelle effectue dans sa jeunesse, comme il se doit, un séjour à Athènes, où il suit cours et conférences …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Aulus Gellius — Aulu Gelle Aulu Gelle (en latin Aulus Gellius) est un grammairien et compilateur romain (v. 115 120 – 180). Biographie Riche érudit, Aulu Gelle effectue dans sa jeunesse, comme il se doit, un séjour à Athènes, où il suit cours et conférences …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Aulus — war ein römischer Vorname (praenomen). Er leitete sich vielleicht von lateinisch aula „Hof“ ab, wahrscheinlicher aber von einem etruskischen Namen Avle (auch Aule, Avile). In schriftlichen Texten wurde Aulus üblicherweise mit A. abgekürzt.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gellius — Die Gellier (Gentilname Gellius) waren eine römische Familie (gens Gellia). Das nomen gentile ist wohl auf einen seit dem 3. Jahrhundert v. Chr. bezeugten samnitischen Vornamen zurückzuführen. Die römischen Namensträger sind seit dem 2.… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Aulus Postumius Albinus — vol. v. p. 288] ] : For others of this gens, see Postumia gens. For other Postumii with the cognomen Albus or Albinus , see Albinus (cognomen). Aulus Postumius Albinus, was a politician of the Roman Republic, and second consul in 99 BC with M.… …   Wikipedia

  • Aulus Postumius Albinus (consul 151 BC) — For others of this gens, see Postumia gens. For other Postumii with the cognomen Albus or Albinus , see Albinus (cognomen). Aulus Postumius Albinus, appa­rently the son of Aulus Postumius Albinus Luscus, was praetor in 155 BC, and consul in 151… …   Wikipedia

  • Aulus — Several prominent ancient Romans had the praenomen Aulus:* Aulus Agerius or Numerius Negidius (a name for the plaintiff in a lawsuit) * Aulus Atilius Calatinus * Aulus Avilius Flaccus * Aulus Ofilius * Aulus Caecina Severus * Aulus Caecina… …   Wikipedia

  • Aulus — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Communes Aulus les Bains : commune française, située dans le département de l Ariège Personnalités Aulus Gellius : grammairien et compilateur… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”