ZOOLOGICAL INVECTIVE IN EPIPHANIUS'S PANARION: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, RHETORICAL STRATEGY, AND PARADOXOGRAPHICAL SOURCES

Abstract

The Paper investigates the use of zoological invective in Epiphanius of Salamis's Panarion, examining its frequency, sources, and polemical function. After presenting statistical data, the study situates references to the animal world within Epiphanius's broader characterisation of “heresies” and “heretics”, exploring the criteria of selection of such imagery in relation to literary genre and rhetorical purpose. The investigation requires a reassessment of the origin and character of Epiphanius's sources, with particular attention to their zoological and medical dimensions as well as their probable paradoxographical origins.