Author Description

The Greek Romances is a compliation of early 1st millenium romance stories from the late classical period between 200-300AD. It includes, Heliodorus of Emesa's Æthiopics: Adventures of Theagenes & Chariclea, Longus' The Romance of Daphnis & Chloe, and Achilles Tatius' The Loves of Clitophon and Leucippe, which were translated into English by Rev. Rowland Smith, and first published in 1855. Æthiopica is disputedly considered the first novel, about the adventures of two lovers, Theagenes & Chariclea, as they swashbuckle about Egypt, Persia, and Ethiopia, and their struggles with being captured, threatened with sacrifice to obscure heathen gods, or killed in battle or sold in to slavery. It is a tale filled with pirates, warriors, and bandits, and deep layers of narration, with stories within stories, making it a literary gem of the ancient world. The Romance of Daphnis & Chloe is an ancient Greek novel written in the Roman Empire, it is the only known work of the Greek novelist and romance writer Longus. It is a pastoral & rhetorical human interest story of the lives of the shepherds and shepardesses on the island of Lesbos. The work tells the story of Daphnis & Chloe both abandoned at birth, and discovered by a goatherder and shepherd, who both raise the children. The children are raised together, and eventually fall in love. Adventure ensues, as Chloe is courted by suitors. The Loves of Clitophon and Leucippe is a Greek romance, which is similar to Daphnis & Chloe, and often considered a parodic in nature. The story is a recounting of Clitophon's adventures. Starting in his home city of Tyre. He falls in love with his cousin Leucippe, and adventure follows, as their ship is wrecked and they fall into the hands of bandits of the Nile delta.