When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- Aeschylus (3.1.1111a10, 12)
- Anaxandrides (7.10.1152a21)
- Aphrodite (7.6.1149b16)
- Cyclops (10.9.1180a29)
- Empedocles (7.3.1147a21, 1147b13; 8.1.1155b8)
- Endymion (10.8.1178b20)
- Epicharmus (9.7.1167b26)
- Euripides
- Alcmaeon (3.1.1110a29)
- Orestes (7.14.1154b29; 9.9.1169b8)
- Philoctetes (6.8.1142a4)
- The Phoenician Women (9.6.1167a.33)
- Other references (8.1.1155b3)
- Hector of Troy (7.1.1145a21)
- Heraclitus (2.3.1105a9; 8.1.1155b5; 10.5.1176a6)
- Hesiod, Works and Days (9.10.1170b21)
- Homer, The Iliad (2.9.1109b10; 3.8.1116a22; 3.8.1116b28; 7.1.1145a21; 7.6.1149b16; 8.11.1160b26; 8.11.1161a14)
- The Odyssey (2.9.1109a33)
- Inscription in the Temple of Apollo, Delos (1.8.1099a28-29)
- King Priam of Troy (1.9.1100a7; 7.1.1145a21)
- Plato (3.5.1113b15, 3.6.1115a10)
- Niobe (7.4.1148a34)
- Rhadamanthus (5.5.1132b26)
- Satyrus (7.4.1148a35)
- Simonides (1.10.1100b20; 4.1.1121a7)
- Sophocles (7.2.1146a20; 7.3.1147b15; 7.9.1151b17)
- Theodectes (7.7.1150b9)
- Theognis (9.9.1170a.13; 9.12.1172a14; 10.9.1179b6)
Historical References
- Anacharsis (10.6.1176b34)
- Anaxagoras (6.7.1141b5; 10.8.1179a14)
- Bias of Priene (5.2.1130a1)
- Celts (as reckless warriors) (3.8.1115b29)
- Eudoxus (10.2.1172b9)
- Phalaris (7.5.1148b24)
- Pythagoras (1.6.1096b5; 2.6.1106b30; 5.5.1132b21)
- Protagoras (9.1.1164a25)
- Sardanapalus (1.5.1095b22), the Assyrian king who lived for pleasure and died in a dramatic way. Eugene Delacroix took his story as a subject for his painting.
- Solon of Athens (1.10.1100a10; 10.8.1179a10)
- Socrates (3.8.1116b4; 4.7.1127b25; 6.13.1144b18; 7.2.1145b23, 25; 7.3.1147b15)
- Speusippus (1.6.1096b6; 7.13.1153b5)
- Thales (6.7.1141b5)
- Xenophanes (7.7.1150b12)
Pop Culture References
- Anthropos, "Human Being" (Olympic boxing champ) (7.4.1147b36)
Milo of Croton (2.6.1106b4)