Abstract

This dissertation examines a very rarely talked-about subject in the field of Classics: ancient theories of how insects reproduce. This topic, however, adds a new dimension to the work of scholars who are interested in the intersection of ancient culture and ancient science. Much in the way feminist scholars have demonstrated that Aristotle's supposedly 'objective' science is informed by cultural attitudes about men and women, this dissertation shows that a similar mechanism operates when Aristotle writes about men and animals. ;There are four chapters in this dissertation. The first chapter addresses previous scholars' claims that the theory of spontaneous generation is an embarrassment to Aristotle's science. A sober examination of the relevant texts reveals that this evaluation is based on a faulty understanding of the theory: Aristotle does understand the sexual nature of insect reproduction, but retains spontaneous generation in certain cases as a means to creating a hierarchy within the category of 'larviparous animals.' ;The second chapter shows that far from being an embarrassment, the theory actually works well to further Aristotle's goals in his classification of all life. Spontaneous generation emerges as an effective tool which Aristotle uses to reduce the conflict between his desire to portray all life as a continuum and his goal of classifying living beings into groups. This explains why Aristotle wants to construct a hierarchy of insects---the third chapter goes on to ask why the hierarchy is constituted the way it is. Why should grasshoppers be located higher than flies and not vice-versa? By examining a wide variety of texts we see that Aristotle's insect hierarchy correlates to the treatment of different insects across literary genres. ;The final chapter discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of this interpretation of Aristotle's theory of spontaneous generation