Paradoxography is a genre of classical literature which deals with the occurrence of abnormal or inexplicable phenomena of the natural or human worlds (Latin mirabilia, 'marvels, miracles').
[1] Early surviving examples of the genre include: It is believed that the content of the pseudo-Aristotelian On Marvellous Things Heard (De mirabilibus auscultationibus) originated in the Hellenistic period, while the final form reflects centuries of expansion at least as recent as the second century of the Christian era.
[2] Phlegon of Tralles's Book of Marvels, which dates from the 2nd century CE, is perhaps the most famous example of the genre, including various stories of human abnormalities.
Phlegon's writing is characterised by brief and forthright description, as well as a tongue-in-cheek insistence on the veracity of his claims.
In Latin literature, both Marcus Terentius Varro and Cicero wrote works on admiranda ("marvelous things"), which do not survive.