- Bliv medlem
-
Log ind
Du er ikke logget ind
Log ind Opret dig - Kurv
Du er ikke logget ind
Beskrivelse
At the beginning of the Historia animalium Aristotle lists several criteria for classifying animals. One of these criteria is the way of living together with other members of the same species. According to his classification, the so-called zoa politika] reach the highest level in this category, because they work together for one goal (Arist. Hist. an. I 1, 488 a 8). Apart from man, especially the social insects bee, wasp, and ant belong to this very small group of species. (Aristotle also adds the crane). Because of this assumed close relationship between man and social insects, it is no surprise that there is a rich literary involvement with bees, wasps, and ants in the Greek and Roman literature. This applies not only for biological or agricultural works, but also - primarily in form of metaphors and similes - for poetic genres like epic, didactic poetry, drama, elegy as well as for philosophical literature. The thesis examines descriptions of bees, wasps, and ants in classical text within the period of the 8th century B.C.E. (epics of Homer) and late antiquity. It is based on scientific descriptions (mainly Aristotle, Varro, Columella, Pliny, and Aelianus) as well as similes, metaphors and miracle stories in other literary genres. In this context, the intentions and the specific conditions of each genre are taken into account. The research focuses on the relationship between human being and animal, but also on the relationship between these groups of animals among themselves. The human society is always visible in the classical texts about social insects, not only in similes and metaphors but also in scientific descriptions. Therefore, on the one hand human values and conditions are quite naturally assigned to these animals, whereas on the other hand observations of conditions in animal societies can become a standard for human activity.
