Callirhoe / Chariton ; edited and translated by G.P. Goold.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chariton

Contributor:

Goold, G. P.

Series:

Loeb classical library ; 481.

Loeb classical library ; 481

Standardized Title:

De Chaerea et Callirrhoe. English & Greek

Language:

English

Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Subjects (All):

Man-woman relationships--Italy--Syracuse--Fiction.

Man-woman relationships.

Italy--Syracuse.

Enslaved persons--Turkey--Caria--Fiction.

Enslaved persons.

Turkey--Caria.

Genre:

Fiction.

Physical Description:

viii, 425 pages : illustrations, maps ; 17 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1995.

Summary:

Chariton's "Callirhoe," subtitled "Love Story in Syracuse," is the oldest extant novel. It is a fast-paced historical romance with ageless charm.

Chariton narrates the adventures of an exceptionally beautiful young bride named Callirhoe, beginning with her abduction by pirates--adventures that take her as far as the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes and involve shipwrecks, several ardent suitors, an embarrassing pregnancy, the hazards of war, and a happy ending. Animated dialogue captures dramatic situations, and the novelist takes us on picturesque travels. His skill makes us enthralled spectators of plots and counterplots, at trials and a crucifixion, inside a harem, among the admiring crowd at weddings, and at battles on land and sea.

This enchanting tale is here made available for the first time in an English translation facing the Greek text. In his Introduction G. P. Goold establishes the book's date in the first century A.D. and relates it to other ancient fiction.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0674995309

OCLC:

30029822