On a Possible Half-Ass Aristotle Fragment in Orion’s <i>Etymologicum</i>

Abstract There are two versions of a report attributed to Aristotle about a ‘half-ass’ (ἡμίονος) – a term usually applied to mules – in two versions of a pair of entries in Orion’s Etymologicum (5th century AD). The report is not found in Aristotle’s extant works, and yet this text does not appear in any of the collections of the fragments of his lost works. The present essay assesses the relevant texts and concludes that the Aristotle-reference in Orion’s entries may well go back to a lost work of Aristotle on animals, namely the Zoïka .