Ancient Greek Novel Callirhoe and Chariton Longus

Greek Romances

Greek novels of antiquity had their own taste for romance which was closely connected with conventional values and religious beliefs. The fact that five novels of ancient Greece that have withstood the test of time present romance in conventional ways, basically rooting it in heterosexual marriage so as to remove any possibility of controversial debate. The very concept of Greek romance is grounded in fourth century CE, after which it went on to leave an indelible mark on influential poets like Nonnus and Musaeus. Five important texts that managed to reach us in entirety from that age include Chariton's Callirhoe from the first century and Xenophon's Anthia and Habrocomes; from the second century, Achilles Tatius' Leucippe and Clitophon and Longus' Daphnis and Chloe; and, from the fourth century, Heliodorus' Charicleia and Theagenes.

Interestingly though each narrative was original in central concept, one theme that runs through all novels is the love between a heterosexual couple, trials and tribulations and their reunion at the end. They are all set in an imaginary world which we could refer to as the classical period as it shows no Roman influence. Chariton's and Heliodorus' works for example are explicitly set in the classical period.

These romances gained critical attention mainly because of two dominant themes in the novels: for one, these romances were absolutely heterosexual and young and secondly, there is a theme of travel and return. The happy ending which involved a period of absence, flight or travel added to the charm of young love and thus even though few novels could reach us in complete form, those that did managed to gain wide acceptance and attention.

Literature on the subject of Greek romances has addressed the reasons for time of emergence and success of this kind of love with Vorlaufer (1876) connecting it with Hellenistic Greek sources while Perry's The ancient romances (1967) tending to the similarity between ancient Greek romance and cultural fabric of imperial Greece. The literary discourse has resulted in following three findings in connection with nature of love and its sources in ancient Greek novels:

(1) Some commentators claim that these romances focused on private emotions and preservation of self because Greece had lost a sense of collective identity amid Hellenistic and Roman influences. They argue that since Greece had lost authority in the political sphere, they turned to self to exercise some control and this emerged in the form of discipline in every area including romance.

(ii) Some critics have also seen this kind of romance as a reorganization of sexual protocol in the imperial period. Critics like Foucault argued that romance of this period contained influences of changing social times where women had gained prominence and there was a renewed sense of respect for marriage in aristocratic class.

(iii) The third context deals with refashioning of traditional themes where instead of choosing old themes in old ways, the authors chose to present them with a modernist touch thereby making them more elite, more fashionable and more in tune with their times.

How the tradition of Greek romance with its heterosexual inclination came about has found no unanimous consensus but the fact remains that this kind of love managed to attracted massive critical appreciation and attention which has helped them withstand the test of time. The opening lines of Chariton's Chaereas and Callirhoe give readers a detailed view of the heroine's beauty that only deserved a man as handsome as Chaereas. Surprisingly the marriage is quick and no courtship is mentioned.

My name is Chariton, of Aphrodisias, and I am clerk to the attorney Athenagoras. I am going to tell you the story of a love affair that took place in Syracuse. The Syracusan general Hermocrates, the man who defeated the Athenians, had a daughter called Callirhoe. She was a wonderful girl, the pride of all Sicily; her beauty was more than human, it was divine…There was a young man called Chaereas, surpassingly handsome, like Achilles and Nireus and Hippolytus and Alcibiades as sculptors and painters portray them. & #8230;But Eros likes to win and enjoys succeeding against the odds. He looked for his opportunity and found it as follows. (Reardon.1989.21-2)

The romance that follows is unprecedented as the two stunningly beautiful people fall in love thus sparking intense jealousy and rivalry from potential hopefuls. The opening lines of the novel set the stage for the story that follows. There is rivalry between the two families, jealousy of suitors, beauty of the two etc. To take into consideration for how the story would unfold.

While the ancient romance may have been influenced by Hellenistic traditions, they left an indelible impression on literature that followed. The story reads like some of Shakespearean work. Romeo and Juliet had the family rivalry angle too along with the fact that both hero and the heroine were very young and desperately in love. While the influence on Greek ancient romance may be unknown, how they influenced romances of Victorian and Romantic era is very clear. They left a mark on romantic traditions of novels that followed and heterosexual love was the theme in most if not all. However what sets those ancient romances apart is the factor of marriage.