What is "palaephatus"

Palaephatus ( Greek: Παλαίφατος) was the original author of a rationalizing text on Greek mythology, the work of paradoxography On Incredible Tales ( Peri apiston (historion); ), which survives in a (probably corrupt) Byzantine edition.

This work consists of an introduction and 52 brief sections on various Greek myths. The first 45 have a common format: a brief statement of a wonder tale from Greek mythology, usually followed by a claim of disbelief ("This is absurd" or "This is not likely" or "The true version is..."), and then a sequence of every-day occurrences which gave rise to the wonder-story through misunderstanding. The last seven are equally brief retellings of myth, without any rationalizing explanation.

Palaephatus' date and name are uncertain; many scholars have concluded that Palaephatus is a pseudonym; the evidence, such as it is, is all of it consistent with the late fourth century BC.

Palaephatus is a genus of moths in the Palaephatidae family.