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Greek Fiction: Callirhoe, Daphnis and Chloe, Letters of Chion
A trio of tales offering an eye-opening alternative view of ancient Greece's literary culture.
A fascinating counterpoint to the monumental epics of ancient Greece, Greek Fiction features three novelistic works written between the first and fourth centuries AD. Chariton's "Callirhoe"-perhaps the first novel ever written-is the stirring tale of two star-crossed lovers who are torn apart when Callirhoe is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Longus's "Daphnis and Chloe" tells the story of a boy and girl-both abandoned at birth-who grow up to fall in love and battle pirates. "Letters of Chion" is an early thriller about tyranny and political assassination. Together these works open a welcome window onto ancient Greece's little-explored legacy of prose fiction.
A fascinating counterpoint to the monumental epics of ancient Greece, Greek Fiction features three novelistic works written between the first and fourth centuries AD. Chariton's "Callirhoe"-perhaps the first novel ever written-is the stirring tale of two star-crossed lovers who are torn apart when Callirhoe is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Longus's "Daphnis and Chloe" tells the story of a boy and girl-both abandoned at birth-who grow up to fall in love and battle pirates. "Letters of Chion" is an early thriller about tyranny and political assassination. Together these works open a welcome window onto ancient Greece's little-explored legacy of prose fiction.
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 25, 2011
23 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
About the author
Chariton
26 books5 followersChariton, (flourished 1st century ad, Aphrodisias, Caria, Asia Minor), Greek novelist, author of Chaereas and Callirhoë, probably the earliest fully extant romantic novel in Western literature. The romances of Chariton and of Achilles Tatius are the only ones preserved in a number of ancient papyri.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 31, 2019
Three ancient Greek novels in the one volume, “Daphnis and Chloe” was easily the more readable. Here are my star ratings for each:
“Callirhoe”, 2/5 stars: Claimed to be the first Greek novel and hence, the first ever novel written. It doesn’t pay to be good looking and Callirhoe pays the price for being so attractive to every single male she comes across. She does occasionally have a voice, though. Characters were one dimensional and I didn’t really care much about any of them. It was a slog to get through. This was also very repetitive ... I lost count of how many times Callirhoe was described as beautiful. Still, very significant in the history of the novel.
“Daphnis and Chloe”, 4/5 stars: A very well written novel, which reminded me a little of the Ovid I have read. A classic love story.
“Letters of Chion” 2.5/5 : A peculiar 20 page political epistolary novel. Lots of references to Plato.
These are all interesting from the point of view of viewing aspects of the ancient world, as well, it’s religion as practiced by people, the importance of philosophy to some, even travel in antiquity.
“Callirhoe”, 2/5 stars: Claimed to be the first Greek novel and hence, the first ever novel written. It doesn’t pay to be good looking and Callirhoe pays the price for being so attractive to every single male she comes across. She does occasionally have a voice, though. Characters were one dimensional and I didn’t really care much about any of them. It was a slog to get through. This was also very repetitive ... I lost count of how many times Callirhoe was described as beautiful. Still, very significant in the history of the novel.
“Daphnis and Chloe”, 4/5 stars: A very well written novel, which reminded me a little of the Ovid I have read. A classic love story.
“Letters of Chion” 2.5/5 : A peculiar 20 page political epistolary novel. Lots of references to Plato.
These are all interesting from the point of view of viewing aspects of the ancient world, as well, it’s religion as practiced by people, the importance of philosophy to some, even travel in antiquity.
May 2, 2025
Kind of hilarious how every single person was so dazzled by Clarihoe's beauty that they think she's a goddess incarnate, but it did get old quite fast, although I enjoyed some of the twists and turns of the young lovers' fate. Daphnis and Chloe was very sweet in the most part, very pastoral and their innocence has an almost comic at times edge to it. Letters of Chion was fine, interesting from a historical perspective more so than a narrative one for me.
April 21, 2024
(only read Callirhoe) EPICCC!!! (not the poetic genre -> the adjective)
January 2, 2014
Another collection of Greek literature. And just as weird as the rest of it that I've read. Ancient Greek men apparently would do anything for a pretty girl--but we knew that from the Helen of Troy story.
Girl meets boy in a Romeo and Juliet scenario, but it's ok because they're beautiful. Their marriage in the first 10 pages resolves a lifelong feud between their families. Yay! Except there's a lot of book left. Too bad the boy is crazy-jealous and the girl's former suitors are assholes. And her maid is kind of dumb. Long story short, boy kicks girl into a coma in a jealous rage, and since they didn't know what a coma was, they buried her.
She wakes up in her tomb and is angry at the gods for...well, a lot of things that aren't really logical. I'd have been made at my husband for not making sure I was actually dead, AND for kicking me that hard in the first place. But that's the difference a few thousand years makes, I guess.
Then she gets rescued. And is angry at the gods because she's rescued by pirates. Or grave robbers. Or both. It's hard to figure out exactly what they are. Grave robbers that live on a boat.
I'm not going to summarize the whole story of Callirhoe other than to say it gets stranger from there.
Daphnis and Chloe was more of the same. Really.
Letters of Chion was genuinely interesting, if incomplete. It's an epistolary...novella, and the oldest one in that form that I've read. It's about a guy who becomes a student of philosophy, and then goes home to overthrow a tyrant. Unfortunately, because he's the one writing letters (and the ONLY one writing letters) we have no idea if he succeeded. He would have no reason to write more letters to his father (the main recipient) because then they'd be in the same place. Or he could have died in the attempt. We'll never know.
Girl meets boy in a Romeo and Juliet scenario, but it's ok because they're beautiful. Their marriage in the first 10 pages resolves a lifelong feud between their families. Yay! Except there's a lot of book left. Too bad the boy is crazy-jealous and the girl's former suitors are assholes. And her maid is kind of dumb. Long story short, boy kicks girl into a coma in a jealous rage, and since they didn't know what a coma was, they buried her.
She wakes up in her tomb and is angry at the gods for...well, a lot of things that aren't really logical. I'd have been made at my husband for not making sure I was actually dead, AND for kicking me that hard in the first place. But that's the difference a few thousand years makes, I guess.
Then she gets rescued. And is angry at the gods because she's rescued by pirates. Or grave robbers. Or both. It's hard to figure out exactly what they are. Grave robbers that live on a boat.
I'm not going to summarize the whole story of Callirhoe other than to say it gets stranger from there.
Daphnis and Chloe was more of the same. Really.
Letters of Chion was genuinely interesting, if incomplete. It's an epistolary...novella, and the oldest one in that form that I've read. It's about a guy who becomes a student of philosophy, and then goes home to overthrow a tyrant. Unfortunately, because he's the one writing letters (and the ONLY one writing letters) we have no idea if he succeeded. He would have no reason to write more letters to his father (the main recipient) because then they'd be in the same place. Or he could have died in the attempt. We'll never know.
December 11, 2022
Callirhoe is considered to be the earliest surviving written romance in Western history and it is said to have popularized a lot of the common tropes of the genre that now haunt us mercilessly.
However, since neither of us know much about ancient Greek fiction, Dr. Jeremy Swist is here today as our Charon to guide us down this Stygian river of ancient romance!
Dr. Swist is also known as the Metal Classicist. He studies classical reception in heavy metal music and teaches Latin and Greek along with Roman and Greek myths and history. He has taught most recently at Xavier University and the University of Texas at San Antonio and is soon to start a new position at Brandeis University in MA. If you’re interested in knowing more about Jeremy’s research and interviews, you can find him on Twitter as @MetalClassicist or over at his Heavy Metal Classicist Blog.
However, since neither of us know much about ancient Greek fiction, Dr. Jeremy Swist is here today as our Charon to guide us down this Stygian river of ancient romance!
Dr. Swist is also known as the Metal Classicist. He studies classical reception in heavy metal music and teaches Latin and Greek along with Roman and Greek myths and history. He has taught most recently at Xavier University and the University of Texas at San Antonio and is soon to start a new position at Brandeis University in MA. If you’re interested in knowing more about Jeremy’s research and interviews, you can find him on Twitter as @MetalClassicist or over at his Heavy Metal Classicist Blog.
February 1, 2024
Really interesting and enjoyable writings from Greece during the Roman Era. A tragicomedy that seems in many ways like the precursor to Shakespeare’s “Pericles”, a lovely pastoral story, and perhaps the first epistolary story in history. The introduction was solid and the footnotes copious and helpful.
June 21, 2022
A good candidate for the oldest (surviving) novel and a perfect illustration of what a tragedy the destruction of the library of Alexandria was to our history
October 27, 2018
Na één van de eerste Latijnse romans volgen enkele van de eerste Griekse romans. Helaas waren deze een stuk minder interessant dan 'De gouden ezel'. Dag en nacht verschil zelfs.
1. Callirhoe: Callirhoe komt zo een beetje overal terecht, maar haar liefde voor Chareas blijft overeind, ook al heeft ie haar letterlijk het graf in geslagen. Verbazingwekkend hoe vaak personages dood lijken maar het dan toch niet blijken te zijn (drama queens!), en op den duur begon de schoonheid van Callirhoe waardoor ELKE man op haar verliefd werd toch een beetje tegen te steken. Maar van de drie verhalen is dit nog het beste, want ondanks de eendimensionale personages is er aan verhaal geen gebrek.
2. Daphnis and Chloe: Dit zou een verhaal over de liefde moeten zijn, ook in de meer filosofische aanpak wat liefde precies is. Dat laatste is precies wat aan mij voorbij gegaan: behalve wat onnozel geklungel valt er weinig te zeggen over deze "ontdekkingstocht". De allerlaatste zin was wel bijzonder treffend.
3. Letters of Chion: Dit zou het meest gelaagde verhaal van de drie moeten zijn, met de brieven van iemand die tot inzicht komt dat hij een dictator moet vermoorden. Ook hier waren de verwachtingen te hoog: de evolutie ging alweer volledig aan mij voorbij.
Het was allemaal niet oninteressant om te lezen, maar dit is vooral voer voor historici en classici, en niet zozeer voor lezers, me dunkt.
1. Callirhoe: Callirhoe komt zo een beetje overal terecht, maar haar liefde voor Chareas blijft overeind, ook al heeft ie haar letterlijk het graf in geslagen. Verbazingwekkend hoe vaak personages dood lijken maar het dan toch niet blijken te zijn (drama queens!), en op den duur begon de schoonheid van Callirhoe waardoor ELKE man op haar verliefd werd toch een beetje tegen te steken. Maar van de drie verhalen is dit nog het beste, want ondanks de eendimensionale personages is er aan verhaal geen gebrek.
2. Daphnis and Chloe: Dit zou een verhaal over de liefde moeten zijn, ook in de meer filosofische aanpak wat liefde precies is. Dat laatste is precies wat aan mij voorbij gegaan: behalve wat onnozel geklungel valt er weinig te zeggen over deze "ontdekkingstocht". De allerlaatste zin was wel bijzonder treffend.
3. Letters of Chion: Dit zou het meest gelaagde verhaal van de drie moeten zijn, met de brieven van iemand die tot inzicht komt dat hij een dictator moet vermoorden. Ook hier waren de verwachtingen te hoog: de evolutie ging alweer volledig aan mij voorbij.
Het was allemaal niet oninteressant om te lezen, maar dit is vooral voer voor historici en classici, en niet zozeer voor lezers, me dunkt.
September 26, 2013
I was looking to read Callirhoe by Chariton and found this great compilation of three Greek fiction classics by Chariton, Longus and Anonymous. Although we often think of Greek writing to be Homeresque epic poetry in form, Callirhoe is more longish fictional prose - what like we would call novels today and therefore would be one of the first, which in itself is interesting.
But the story is also very gripping and entertaining. Set in Syracuse around 400 BC it is about the love between Chaereas, of noble birth, and his supernaturally beautiful wife Callirhoe. When one is believed dead, as in Romeo and Juliet, a whole series of events follow that test their love and hope for reunification. It is a story of high intrigue, loyalty, battle strategies and above all about their bold and unfailing love. Great read.
But the story is also very gripping and entertaining. Set in Syracuse around 400 BC it is about the love between Chaereas, of noble birth, and his supernaturally beautiful wife Callirhoe. When one is believed dead, as in Romeo and Juliet, a whole series of events follow that test their love and hope for reunification. It is a story of high intrigue, loyalty, battle strategies and above all about their bold and unfailing love. Great read.
March 20, 2015
Was just looking to read Chaereas and Callirhoe, and came across this version (collation of 3 disparate Greek tales), which is exceptionally clear and free flowing. I found the storyline itself filled with twists and turns and kept me wanting to read more and more, which is unusual for me with respect to ancient novels. Very easy on the brain and novel in its time even has a happy ending. Highly recommend!
May 22, 2024
With two romances and a thriller, this collection of Greek fiction makes for an interesting and fun read. I read Callirhoe and Daphnis and Chloe for a class (Sex & Gender in Antiquity), but I genuinely enjoyed the texts so I decided to finish off the book and I was certainly not disappointed. Callirhoe takes themes from the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite and uses them in subtle ways (I wrote my final paper on that topic), Daphnis and Chloe plays with the ancient discourse on nature, and Letters of Chion tracks the birth of a tyrranicide from an education in philosophy.
These texts are early examples of romantic and thriller literature, with the exception of Callirhoe, which is the oldest novel that has been preserved. I had a lot of fun reading these translations and identifying the early forms of popular tropes found in media today (love triangle, love at first sight, etc.). All in all, just a great book. I highly recommend reading if you’re a fan of ancient literature, romantic literature, or philosophic themes (particularly in Callirhoe: the notion of truth in the trial (5.6), Dionysius’ “contest between reason and emotion” (2.4), and the character Demetrius (8.3)).
These texts are early examples of romantic and thriller literature, with the exception of Callirhoe, which is the oldest novel that has been preserved. I had a lot of fun reading these translations and identifying the early forms of popular tropes found in media today (love triangle, love at first sight, etc.). All in all, just a great book. I highly recommend reading if you’re a fan of ancient literature, romantic literature, or philosophic themes (particularly in Callirhoe: the notion of truth in the trial (5.6), Dionysius’ “contest between reason and emotion” (2.4), and the character Demetrius (8.3)).
January 6, 2023
Callirhoe
The longest of the works, it wears it's Homeric influence proudly both in terms of the styling of metaphors and direct quotations from The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Daphnis and Chloe
Easily my favourite of these three, it's pastoral setting and the innocence of first love was a delight.
Letters of Chion
Seventeen letters written as if they were by Chion himself, they tell a story of political intrigue. It's short (20ish pages) and I didn't find it that interesting until the last two letters.
The longest of the works, it wears it's Homeric influence proudly both in terms of the styling of metaphors and direct quotations from The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Daphnis and Chloe
Easily my favourite of these three, it's pastoral setting and the innocence of first love was a delight.
Letters of Chion
Seventeen letters written as if they were by Chion himself, they tell a story of political intrigue. It's short (20ish pages) and I didn't find it that interesting until the last two letters.
June 16, 2020
Mainly Callirhoe is the best one, the rest is 3/5 (Daphis and Chloe — puberty love story, not worth to read per se) and 2/5 (Letters of Chion — might be interesting in a bigger nouvelle, but with reduced context leaves mixed feelings). I like the way of narrative in Callirhoe, i.e. no big depressive descriptions of something which is not related, and the story is good, has an idea behind with easy-to-read style. A lot of humor and positive emotions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2024
fascinating contrast, while the first two are similar in themes, I was especially interested in the contrast of the third one, with it's philosophical and political influences.
February 17, 2013
I love any classical history/greek mythology, so was overjoyed to find this one on the "1001 Books You must Read Before you Die" booklist. I enjoyed every bit of this, and was fascinated to see that one of the translators was originally from Carlisle and had indeed attended Trinity School! All the best people attended Trinity school!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews