Aelian Aelian or (Claudius Aelianus, Praeneste, ca. 175 - ca. 235) was a Roman author and professor of rhetoric that had its heyday during the reign of Septimius Severus and probably outlived Elagabalus. Spoke Greek so smoothly that language was called Honey (μελίγλωττος / melíglôttos). Although born in Italy, preferred Greek authors and wrote his works in a somewhat archaic Greek.
His two major works are of considerable value because they contain numerous quotations from the work of previous authors that otherwise would have been lost as well as the amazing stories of folk traditions that offer unexpected views of the lifestyle of the Greco-Roman world.