Paradoxography is a genre of

classical literature Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

which deals with the occurrence of abnormal or inexplicable phenomena of the natural or human worlds. Early surviving examples of the genre include: * Palaephatus's ' ("On Incredible Things") ( 4th century BCE) * The ' ("Collection of Extraordinary Tales") composed by Antigonus of Carystus (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

3rd century BCE), partly on the basis of a paradoxographical work of Callimachus * Apollonius Paradoxographus's ' (2nd century BCE) It is believed that the content of the

pseudo-Aristotelian Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known a ...

'' On Marvellous Things Heard'' (''De mirabilibus auscultationibus'') originated in the Hellenistic period, while the final form reflects centuries of expansion at least as recent as the second century of the Christian era.Laura Gibbs, review of Gabriella Vanotti, ' (Milano: Bompiani, 2007)
''Bryn Mawr Classical Review'' 2009.02.22
/ref>

Phlegon of Tralles Phlegon of Tralles ( grc, Φλέγων ὁ Τραλλιανός ''Flegon o Trallianos'') was a Greek writer and freedman of the emperor Hadrian, who lived in the 2nd century AD. Works His chief work was the ''Olympiads'', an historical compendi ...

's ''Book of Marvels'', which dates from the 2nd century CE, is perhaps the most famous example of the genre, including various stories of human abnormalities. Phlegon's brief accounts of prodigies and wonders include ghost stories, accounts of monstrous births, strange animals like centaurs, hermaphrodites, giant skeletons and prophesying heads. Phlegon's writing is characterised by brief and forthright description, as well as a tongue-in-cheek insistence on the veracity of his claims. Other works of this genre in Greek include Heraclitus the Paradoxographer's ' ("On Incredible Things", 1st or 2nd century CE) and Claudius Aelianus's ''On the Nature of Animals'' (3rd century CE). In Latin literature, both Marcus Terentius Varro and Cicero wrote works on ' ("marvelous things"), which do not survive.

Notes

'', vol. 9, Stuttgart, 2000, cols. 309–314. * Wansen, William (ed. & tr.). ''Phlegon of Tralles' Book of Marvels''. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1996 * Leyra, Irene Pajón. "". '. Zaragoza: Prensas Universitarias de Zaragoza, 2011. 368. {{ISBN, 9788415274612 * Stern, Jacob. "Heraclitus the Paradoxographer: Περὶ Ἀπίστων, 'On Unbelievable Tales'". ''Transactions of the American Philological Association 133.1'' (Spring, 2003), pp. 51–97. Introduction, translation, and commentary on the text. Literary genres Classical antiquity

Notes

Further reading