His "Miscellany" is a pleasurable example of light reading for Romans. Offering engaging anecdotes about celebrities of his day, retellings of legendary events, and enjoyable descriptive pieces in sum: amusement, information, and variety Aelian's collection of nuggets and narratives was enjoyed by a wide reading public - and not just pupils under this or that philosopher. A rather similar miscellany had been published in the previous century by Aulo Gellio.
Elio is a late, perhaps the last, representative of what was a very popular genre. Here then are anecdotes about the famous philosophers, peppered with myths instructively retold; moralizing tales about heroes and rulers, athletes and wise men; reports about styles in dress, food and drink, lovers, gift-giving practices, entertainments, religious beliefs and death customs; and comments on sculpture and painting. Some of the information is not preserved in any other source. Underlying it all are his ideals derived from The Porch, as well as this Roman's great admiration for high-brow culture.
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