Editing Manticore (section)

=== Pliny's Aethiopian beasts ===
[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] described the "mantichora" in his ''[[Naturalis Historia]]''  (c. 77 AD)<ref>{{L&S|mantichora|mantĭchō^ra|ref}} lists Plin. 8, 21, 30, § 75; 8, 30, 45, § 107. So the same passage may be designated variously as 8.21 (30), or 8.30 or 8.75 depending on the editor.</ref> having relied on a faulty copy of [[Aristotle]]'s natural history that contained the misspelling ("martikhoras").<ref name="robinson"/>

Pliny also introduced the confused notion that the manticore might occur in Africa, because he had discussed this and other creatures (such as the [[Yale (mythical creature)|yale]]) within a passage on [[Aethiopia]].{{sfnp|Nichols tr.|2013|p=142}}<ref name="george"/>{{efn|[[:de:Karl Mayhoff|Carl (Karl) Mayhoff]] (ed., 1857. Plinius ''Hist. Nat.'' viii.21., i.e.. {{harvp|Mayhoff ed.|1875}}, 8.'''21''' (30) §75, p. 74) proposed an emendation of the text {{lang|la|{{linktext|eosdem}}}} "the same" to {{lang|la| {{linktext|apud |Indos |dein}} which would qualify the statements to be about India.}}}} But he also described the [[crocotta]] and the mantichora of Aethiopia together, and while the crocotta imitated the voices of men{{efn|And considered to be based on the [laughing] [[hyena]].<ref>Bostock, John ed. "[http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0978.phi001.perseus-eng1:8.45 Chap. 45. The Crocotta. The Mantichora]</ref>}} the mantichora of Aethiopia too also mimicked human speech, on authority of [[Juba II]],<ref name="pliny8.107"/> with a voice like the pipe ([[panpipe]], ''fistula'') mixed with trumpet.<ref name="pliny8.75"/>