Pliny the Elder
From Cunnan
Jump to navigationJump to search
Gaius Plinius Secondus (23 - 79), known as Pliny the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew, was best known in the Middle Ages for his work Naturalis Historia. It is a work of 37 books covering fields as diverse as botany, zoology, mathematics, mineralogy and anthropology. It is not particularly discerning in its sources and so is a mixture of fact and legend.
His other works have for the most part been lost. Pliny died in 73 C.E., in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
