Nuova luce sul Peplo (pseudo)aristotelico

Abstract

The attribution to Aristotle of a work entitled Peplos has (almost) never been doubted in antiquity. It appears, indeed, in the list of Aristotle’s works of the Vita Aristotelis by pseudo Hesychios. Nowadays, however, it is generally regarded as spurious. Although some studies have been carried out on this work, there are at least three points that need some clarification and/ or correction. Firstly, the Peplos is not, as scholars formally believed, mentioned in the Arabic lists of Aristotle’s works. Secondly, a new fragment mentioned only by Felix Jacoby in his preparatory studies for the edition of Aristotle in the Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker and ignored by all subsequent editors of the Peplos may shed new light on the content of the work. Thirdly, the categorical rejection of Aristotelian authorship must be reviewed on the basis of Gutzwiller’s (Epitaphs) stylistic and lexicographic analysis of some epigrams that probably belong to the Peplos.