Claudiano tra scienza e mirabilia: Hystrix, Nilus, Torpedo (carm. min. 9, 28, 49)

In the poetic collection attributed to Claudian (IV-V cent. AD) and known to us by the spurious title of carmina minora three short hexametric poems present topics of the minutest doxography: in the carm. min. 9 Hystrix, 28 Nilus and 49 Torpedo, in fact, the late Latin poet’s curiosity about the mirabile by way of the description of a place (the Nile river) or an animal (the porcupine and the torpedo fish), and his attraction to the literature of the ‘paradox’ go together. In combining the essence of the epigram’s form with a supposedly didactic purpose, and by elevating zoological or geographical topics to the level of high literature, Claudian appears comfortable in creating a poetry which is free of empirical or scientific precision and has no intention of being educative, but simply wishes to share the wonderment at the bizarre aspects of reality. The Latin text is presented here in a new critical edition, accompanied by introduction, parallel translation in Italian and commentary.