Hellenistic romance

Hellenistic romance is a form of ancient Greek literature developed during the latter part of the Hellenistic age, a period that spanned from the end of Alexander the Great's reign to the time of the Roman Empire. The literary form, also known as Greek romance, consists of several common themes, such as the separation of young lovers, adventure and travel, overcoming hardships, and a happy reunion. Only five complete works of Hellenistic romance survive, although several fragmentary works have also been discovered. The form is seen as an early ancestor of the modern novel and has influenced works as diverse as the biblical New Testament to the plays of William Shakespeare.

Overview

The Hellenistic period refers to an era of significant Greek influence over the ancient world. The term comes from the word Hellazein, which means "to speak Greek or identify with the Greeks." The period began with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E. and continued until the Roman Empire conquered the last of Alexander's former territories in 31 B.C.E. Near the end of this period, Greek authors developed a style of writing that later historians would refer to as Hellenistic romance. Romance, in this context, did not mean a love story, but came from the Latin word romanice, referring to something written in the common language and not in more formal Latin.

Hellenistic romances are categorized as works of prose that contain elements of travel and adventure set in a historical context. They tend to focus on young lovers separated by fate and reunited after much hardship. The oldest surviving example of Hellenistic romance is a fragment of a work called Ninus from the first century B.C.E. The work, whose author is unknown, tells the story of a young Ninus, the legendary king of Assyria, who fell in love with his cousin. Other fragmentary tales include the Babylonian Tale, a story of separated lovers; The Wonders Beyond Thule, an adventure tale set in the far north in what may be modern Iceland; and Phoenician Story, a crude work with references to sex and violence. Only five complete works characterized as Hellenistic romances have survived. Of these, most were written in the first or second century C.E., after the Hellenistic period ended.

Chaereas and Callirhoë was believed written by Chariton in the first century C.E. The main characters are young newlyweds who are driven to jealousy by rumors of infidelity. Chaereas appears to accidentally kill Callirhoë and buries her in a tomb. She wakes up and is found by grave robbers who sell her as a slave to Dionysius, the king of Ionia. Dionysius falls in love with Callirhoë and marries her. When Chaereas discovers she is still alive, he sets out after her and ends up before the King of Persia where he must compete with Dionysius for her return. In the end, the goddess Aphrodite helps Chaereas and Callirhoë reunite.

The Ephesian Tale, a second century C.E. work by Xenophon, tells the story of Anthia and Habrocomes, two teenagers who fall hopelessly in love with each other. Their parents consult an oracle who warns them that the teens will face a host of disasters. To save them from their fate, their parents arrange their marriage and send them to Egypt for safety. Along the way, they are kidnapped by pirates, sold into slavery, and faced with numerous rivals for their affections. The story ends with Anthia and Habrocomes back together and revealing that they have remained faithful to each other.

Daphnis and Chloe by second century C.E. author Longus tells of two innocent children abandoned at birth and raised by shepherds. They meet and fall in love, but are afraid to consummate their relationship. Chloe is later carried off by thieves and Daphnis kidnapped by pirates. After several adventures, they are recognized by their respective birth parents, reunited, and married.

Leucippe and Cleitophon by Achilles Tatius is also from the second century C.E. A young man, Cleitophon, falls in love with Leucippe despite being engaged to another woman. When his future bride is mistakenly kidnapped, Cleitophon elopes with Leucippe, but the couple is shipwrecked and captured by bandits. Several times during their adventures, Cleitophon thinks Leucippe has been killed, only to discover she is still alive.

The Ethiopian Story by Heliodorus dates from the third or fourth century C.E. and tells the story of Chariclea, the princess of Ethiopia. Chariclea was born white because before her birth, her mother looked upon a painting of the mythical heroine Andromeda. To protect her reputation, the queen banishes Chariclea. As a young woman, Chariclea meets Theagenes and the two fall in love. The couple is separated, threatened, and pass through a series of ordeals before they are reunited and Chariclea reclaims her heritage as Ethiopian royalty.

Impact

Some scholars see the influences of Hellenistic romances on the authors of the books of the New Testament. While the stories focused on the lives of Jesus and his followers, many of the motifs used—such as travel, storms, shipwrecks, crowds, and courtrooms—had their roots in the Greek tradition. Elements of Hellenistic literature also inspired authors during the Roman period and led to works credited with influencing the creation of the modern novel in the seventeenth century.

A second century C.E. Roman text called The Golden Ass by Apuleius shares many elements with a Greek version of the story called "The Ass." The better-known Roman version was a tale of love, travel, and adventure, but also featured a hero whose fascination with magic accidentally transformed him into a donkey. This element was picked up by other writers, and eventually incorporated by William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Echoes of Hellenistic romances can be found in much of Shakespeare's work, such as the separated lovers and mistaken death of the female protagonist in Romeo and Juliet. His play Pericles, Prince of Tyre was based on a fifth- or sixth-century work called Apollonius of Tyre, itself believed to have been an earlier Greek text bearing similarities to The Ephesian Tale. Shakespeare's As You Like It is considered an example of a pastoral romance, a literary form depicting the pleasures of rural life. The play borrowed heavily from sixteenth-century British author Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde, which was directly influenced by Daphnis and Chloe.

Bibliography

Archibald, Elizabeth. "Ancient Romance." A Companion to Romance: From Classical to Contemporary. Edited by Corinne Saunders, Wiley-Blackwell, 2004.

Gesner, Carol. Shakespeare and the Greek Romance: A Study of Origins. UP of Kentucky, 2014.

Gray, Vivienne J., editor. Xenophon. Oxford UP, 2010.

"Hellenism." Jewish Virtual Library, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/hellenism.html. Accessed 8 Nov. 2016.

"Hellenistic Greece." History.com, 2010, www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/hellenistic-greece. Accessed 8 Nov. 2016.

Reardon, B. P., editor. Collected Ancient Greek Novels. U of California P, 2008.

---. The Form of Greek Romance. Princeton UP, 1991.

Tate, W. Randolph. Biblical Interpretation: An Integrated Approach. Baker Academic, 2008.