From Empirical Observations to Learned Curiosities: Alcmaeon’s Theory of Goat Respiration

Abstract

This paper examines the transmission and transformation of a zoological theory attributed to Alcmaeon of Croton, who, according to Aristotle, claimed that goats breathe through their ears. Although Aristotle refuted this theory, it persisted for centuries, appearing in the works of Varro, Pliny the Elder, Hippolytus of Rome, and Aelian. Varro and Pliny identified the Hellenistic paradoxographer Archelaus of Chersonesus as their immediate source, while Pliny and Aelian also attributed the theory to herdsmen – and, in Aelian’s case, to shepherds. Taking as a starting point Aristotle’s account, which identifies Alcmaeon as the ultimate source of this theory, the paper analyses these later testimonies and their contexts, in order to illuminate the dynamic processes of knowledge transmission in antiquity. It argues that the survival of Alcmaeon’s theory, despite its refutation, reflects both the resilience of peculiar ideas and the adaptability of ancient scholarly traditions, which integrated physiological theories into diverse epistemological frameworks.