Pseudo-Filone di Bisanzio, ›Le sette meraviglie del mondo‹

The Περὶ ἑπτὰ θεαμάτων is the only treatise on the seven wonders that has come down to us from antiquity. The only witness who hands down the text - the Pal. Gr. 398, a famous witness belonging to the so-called 'philosophical collection' - attributes it to the Hellenistic ingenue Philo of Byzantium, active between the mid- and late 3rd century BC. This attribution has increased the treatise's fame and authority since the 17th century. Everything indicates, however, that the author must be considered late antique, if not even proto-Byzantine.

This volume offers the first critical edition of the Περὶ ἑπτὰ θεαμάτων, accompanied by a translation, and preceded by an extensive introduction that explores the literary tradition the author was nourished by, as well as the textual fate, genre, language and style of the treatise, to arrive at a dating hypothesis. Historical and literary insights are also dedicated to each of the marvels described by the author, useful to bring out the peculiarities of the perspective adopted by Pseudo-Philon, and - in some cases - to identify the probable or certain sources. A discussion of the most problematic passages from an exegetical and critical-textual point of view is offered to accompany and justify the text.

The volume concludes with a hitherto unpublished Latin translation by Lukas Holste (1596-1661).