The Evidence from the History of Animals

Abstract

This chapter attempts to expand our knowledge of Aristotle’s Homeric Problems through an examination in context of the nine references to Homer in Aristotle’s History of Animals. Topics include: the unusual anatomical description in the account of the death of Thoön in Iliad 13; the longevity of Odyssey’s dog Argos; the two names of a bird in Iliad 14 (chalkis and kumindis); and the powerful eagle of Iliad 24. It is argued that, taken together, they likely provide additional evidence about the content of the Homeric Problems, and how Aristotle approached some of the debates engaged in by Homeric scholars in antiquity.