My goal is to sketch the semantic history of a number of terms involving the Greek word nous and a number of prefixes, which give a more precise meaning – perinoia, pronoia, paranoia. I compare this line of composed terms to another, involving the Greek phren/phron with a prefix – notably in paraphrenia. I start with an obvious mistake in reading the semantic history of the term pronoia, found in interpretations of contemporary popular culture, especially SF literature and film: and yet, the semantic potential of these terms in defining genre is still enormous. In order to expand the usages and more precise application, I propose to pay more attention to the use of these terms not just in ancient philosophical, but also in ancient literary texts, especially Aristophanes.
