Skip to main content
Historical Bibliography Updated: June 17, 2026

Oppianou Alieuticon biblia pente. Tou autou Kynegetikon biblia tessara. Oppiani De piscibus libri V. Eiusdem De venatione libri IV. Oppiani De piscibus Laurentio Lippio interprete libri V.

Publication Details

Venice: in aedibus Aldi et Andreae Asulani Soceri, 1517 CE.

First edition in print of Oppian of Apamea's Cynegetica (Κυνηγετικά/KynÄ“getiká, 'On Hunting' ), a didactic poem in 2144 hexameters and 4 books, dedicated to the emperor Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus). Its author is to not be confused with Oppian of Anazarbus, although in antiquity both didactic poems were attributed to a single author with this name, perhaps because they were combined in a single edition, beginning with Halieutiká, or because the author of Cynegetica circulated his own work under the name of the predecessor he imitated. In this Aldine edition the Greek texts of the works of both Oppians were combined, along with their translation by Lorenzo Lippi; however, only the Cynegetica was printed for the first time. Cynegetica was written after 198 CE (conquest of the city of Ctesiphon). In addition to information on hunting techniques with dogs and horses, the work includes a great deal of zoological information as hunters needed to know as much as possible about the animals they hunted, their habits and methods appropriate to their capture, etc. The only surviving illuminated manuscript of the text is the 10th century codex from the library of Basilios Bessarion in the Biblioteca nazionale Marciana, Venice, designated cod. Gr. Z. 479. It includes 187 miniature paintings. 

Catalog MetadataReference Information
Entry Number#7111
Permanent Linkhttps://hom-sveltekit.fly.dev/entry/9278
Author Bio LinkWikipedia ↗
External URLoppianou-alieuticon-biblia-pente-tou-autou-kynegetikon-biblia-tessara-oppiani-de-piscibus-libri-v-eiusdem-de-venatione-libri-iv-oppiani-de-piscibus-laurentio-lippio-interprete-libri-v-venetiis-in-aedibus-aldi-et-andrea-soceri-mense-decembri-1517

Geographic Context

Publication place: Venice