The Ancient Greek Novel and Its Heroines A Female Paradox PDF

The Ancient Greek Novel and Its Heroines: A Female Paradox
Author(s): S. Wiersma
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Mnemosyne, Fourth Series, Vol. 43, Fasc. 1/2 (1990), pp. 109-123
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Mnemosyne, Vol. XLIII,
GREEK
ANCIENT
THE
AND
NOVEL
A FEMALE
ITS
Fase. 1-2 (1990)
HEROINES:
PARADOX
BY
S. WIERSMA
role played
In this paper I discuss some aspects of the dominant
clear that
I
to
make
Greek
novels.
ancient
in
heroines
the
the
try
by
within
the
acted
of the audience
from the viewpoint
they probably
behaviour.
female
and socially
of familiar
bounds
acceptable
First I shall survey the historical
background
treat
late
Hellenistic
I
Next
shortly
(I).
with the settings

ical combination
Greek
of the ancient
in comparison
I deal with the paradox-
novels
of the novels
milieu
(II). Finally,
which is characteristic
and prominence
of modesty
in the Greek
of the heroines
not only of the actions and behaviour
women could play
novels but also of certain public roles upper-class
in Hellenistic
I.
their
The
society (III).
writers
of ancient
stories
imitators
with
a touch
in Renaissance
fiction
some
took
of reality,
and baroque
and,
European
eschewed
coct
to furnish
trouble
unlike
they
Apparently,
digression.
philosophical
course.
a 'natural*
series of events following
some
of their
literature,
they
set out to con-
pieces of entertainThey tried to make their books agreeable

of
effective
tools as,
a
ment. Accordingly,
variety
they developed
and
the
the subde play of literary allusion,
for instance,
practice of
the
of faraway
the exotic atmosphere
countries,
evoking
evoking
thrill
of adventure,
and
other
stock
of narrative.
devices
No
less
to
however,
effective,
special
the
of
balance:
about
the
knew
above.
heavy weight
They
appeal
for by lovely and
if implicit)
of (unavoidable
ethics is compensated
of happiness
and pleasure.
sometimes
presented
episodes
fruitily
at two levels:
works
the
of
their
make
develop
Moreover,
they
plots
was
the
heroes
have
but
the
kind
of
realism
referred
and grotesque
bizarre
to go through
sufferings
at the same time the scene for their experiences
experiences,
appears to be set in terms
of a real human
society.
We
may
safely
THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES
110
assume
to lose
of prose fiction were anxious not

that already the Creators'
attention
their public's
by losing all traces of recognizable
social
reality.
What do we know
some
facts about
about
*
We are in possession
of
reality'?
of the
context and social background
that
the historical
while dating Chariton,

still wavered
Rohde,
A.D.
and more
between
the fifth and sixth
Recent,
century
or even 'atticism',
are
studies of Chariton's
classicism,
systematic,
a solid basis to place his work no later than the beginning
of the first
romance
is probably
the first comAs Chariton's
century
B.C.1)
ancient
novel.
Erwin
one, the structurally

plete surviving
Heliodorus
may be the last. There
narrative
very complicated
by
is some reason to suppose
that
a comparable
Heliodorus
imitated
of a given siege
in
the
work of Julian,
the Roman
description
emperor,
he must have been working in the latter half of the fourth
in his account
and hence
century2).
We may conclude
that ancient fiction was written and read from as
early as the second century B.C. until the end of the fourth A.D.3).
not only of the period of the ancient
We have a fair knowledge
novel's development,
but also of the geographical
region where this
genre
came
convincing
and partly
into existence
and the area of its distribution.
picture is given by T. H?gg, who,

and Reardon's
following
Perry's
The
partly deviating
arrives
views,
most
from
at the
1) A fundamental study is: A. D. Papanikolau, Chariton und Xenophon von

Ephesos: Zur Frage der Abh?ngigkeit, in: Charts: FestschriftK. Vourveris(Athens 1964),
305-20. Xenophon, as P. demonstrates, imitated Chariton. In his dissertation P.
shows that Chariton worked in the first century B.C. (Zur SpracheCharitons, diss.
Cologne 1962). Cf. by the same author: Chariton-Studien,G?ttingen 1973. More
titles in: T. H?gg, The Novel in Antiquity (Oxford 1983), 237. H?gg does not mention M. Pakcinska, Pierwszy Zachowany Romans Grecki, Meander 19 (1964), 128-42
and 183 (summary in Latin), who argues that Chariton's novel, when dated early,
may be compared effectively for style and structure with the historical writings of
the Hellenistic period.
2) The description of the siege of Syene in Egypt "has some striking similarities
with Emperor Julian's description of the siege of Mesopotamian Nisibis in AD
350" (T. H?gg, op. cit. 59). Of course, these similarities, as H?gg observes
himself, are relevant only if the emperor "is giving an authentic report of an
historical event". Cf. R. Keydell, Polychronion: Festschrift F. D?lger (Heidelberg
1966), 345-50.
3) Cf. on the vitality and popularity of the genre: C. W. M?ller, in: E. Vogt
(ed.), GriechischeLiteratur (Neues Handbuch der Literaturwissenschaft, Band 2,
Wiesbaden 1981), 386-7.

that
conclusion
developed
in
this
Asia
late
Minor
Hellenistic
and
111
must
have
been
genre
its real flourishing
in
reached
whence it spread over the world during the first cenAlexandria4),

turies after Christ. These general facts of time and place provide us
with a first, if still very rough,
of the historical
outline
in
milieu
which
ancient
advanced.
more
But
detailed
"The
Hellenistic
first
prose fiction
some other
was created,
and
valued,
(apparently)
historical
data are available
to yield a
picture.
novels
were
aimed
cities
of Asia
to a distinguishing
some way the birth
Minor".
characteristic
at the
This
of the
educated
statement
genre
classes
of the
by H?gg points
In
and its public.
with
is interrelated
of prose fiction in antiquity

It is hardly conceivable
that the professional
literacy.
storytellers
of such complicated
could master the memorizing
and elaborately
stories as are put down in the novel5).
structured
we have
Actually,
enough reasons to suppose that already the ancient writers of fiction

to a public able to read for pleasure.
addressed
themselves
They
their books as reading material.
offered (and designed)
This is, for
indicated
found on ancient
bookinstance,
strikingly
by drawings
added to illustrate
the text6).
however,
obviously
Literacy,
on
increase
the
the
last
centuries
B.C., did not imply
though
during
all strata of Hellenistic
general ability to read and write, pervading
When Greek romance
was born, only the top stratum
of
society.
middle
class
could
society and the 'professional'
(Hellenized)
enjoy
rolls,
it. Later
on the novel
also reached
other
people.
A variety
of causes,
4) Modem historiography concerning ancient prose fiction has a sound basis

in: B. E. Perry, The Ancient Romances: A Literary-HistoricalAccount of Their Origins,
Berkeley /Los Angeles 1967. Indispensable are B. P. Reardon's theories, partly
presented as comments on Perry's argument: cf. Courants litt?rairesgrecs des Ile et
Ille si?cles apr?s J.-C. (Paris 1971), 309-403, and The Greek Novel, Phoenix 23
(1969), 291-309.
5) See on the possible function of those storytellers: A. Scobie, Aspects of the
Ancient Romance and Its Heritage (Meisenheim/Glan
1969), 9-29.
6) K. Weitzmann, Ancient Book Illumination, (Cambridge/Mass. 1959), 100. Cf.
the same, Illustration in Roll and Codex, Princeton 1970. Recently, Berber Wesseling
has thoroughly dealt with the problem of literacy and the audience of the ancient
novels. Arguing from a sociological point of view, she concludes that the intended
readership "is probably the intellectuals in the first place". Berber Wesseling, The
Audienceof the Ancient Novels, in: H. Hofmann (ed.), GroningenColloquia on the Novel,
I (Groningen 1988), 67-79.
112
and other literates7),

recitations
probably
including
by scribes
It is clear, however,
made the genre widely popular.
that the few
at.
literate
were
aimed
the
Moreover,
fully
people
being
style and
of the
contents
novels
surviving
on the reader's
seem
to presume
some
higher
and (in a lesser
the 'sophistic'
the 'non-sophistic'
are spiced with allusions
to
specimens
degree)
the 'classical'
Homer
to
literature
(from
Theocritus)8).
education
To
both
part:
outline
up, more or less definite

the world in which the Greek
literary
course
genre.
of the
sum
From
Hellenistic
indicate
the
central
aspect, apart
tion aesthetics,
from
The
as
as a
the
contents
of the
novels
surviving
must have been
of literacy:
the genre
material
to literate
This
people.
in
of
the
directly pertinent
sphere
recepof the group
illustrates
the social position
reading
being
indirectly
ancient
to keep
their fictitious
stories, tried
'staging'
readers'
The above
reality.
everyday
of that reality with respect to
delineation
novelists,while
in touch with their
is a provisioned
place and social stratification.
summary
from this outline we

Starting
whether
further
and to what extent
may go into detail and check

features of Hellenistic
(and imperial)
to balance
II.
us to
at.
aimed
time,
enable
to function
Minor,
and
role
to serve
developed
data
came
century
speaking
of the structure
istics
novel
where it came into being in the

it spread
the late
B.C.,
during
over
Greek
East
the
and
periods
throughout
world. Papyrological
data and some characterAsia
second
and Roman
the Greek
historical
To
fact and
what
their fantastic
extent
love
societies
figured
in the novel
fiction.
did
stories
the Greek
novelists
with a recognizable
to provide
"As far
background?
manage
7) See on this plausible hypothesis: T. H?gg, op. cit. 93.?. ?. Havelock, The
Muse Learns to Write: Reflectionson Oralityand Literacyfrom Antiquity to the Present(New
Haven 1986), deals with problems inherent in the transformation from orality to
literacy in classical and other times.
8) The 'non-sophistic' (Chariton, Xenophon) no less than the 'sophistic' ones
(Longus, Achilles Tatius, Heliodorus) must have been written for a rather select
public, and in the course of time have moved down the social scale. This is the
view T. H?gg adheres to in his book on the novel in antiquity (cf. op. eit 98). I
wonder whether his suggeston at p. 35 that the authors of the three surviving
'sophistic' novels "aimed at a narrower and more refined audience than that of
their predecessors" is compatible with his general view.
113
as externals
of life
conditions
go", the novels picture contemporary
land
and
and living:
"...travel
kidsea; pirates and brigands;
by
the ravages
of chance;
and slavery;
syncretism.
napping
religious
Chariton
with
dwells
life in western
relish
and
Asia
inside
knowledge
Achilles
Tatius
on the countryon the big city
Minor,
the
(T. H?gg 87). Just in line with these parallels,
in the novels might mirror other instances
of the 'fiction'
settings
of Hellenistic
as I suggested,
these works
'fact' as well. If indeed,
squire
of Alexandria"
were
for people belonging

to a specific social stratum,
then
or
not
readers
of
ask
whether
the
first
Greek
properly
written
we
may
romance
found
specific
features
of their
own
surrounding
in these
books.
well informed
We are reasonably
about the circumstances,
and doings of the ruling elites in the cities of the Greek
before and after Christ.
Epigraphic
during the first centuries
tion
historico-cultural
material,
archaeological
with
a social stratification
and
other
data
posiEast
and
point to
interests:
economic
closely knit mutual
tried to maintain
their position
by
ruling classes
successfully
whereas
the
means of a system of so-called
people
'euergetism'9),
of profitable
At the
with a situation
used to comply
dependency.
the
same
time
these
upper-class
'benefactors'
means.
by ideological
position
tend to
and public
spheres
in creating
succeeded
privileged
of 'official'
paradoxical
atmosphere
their
private
monuments
and
interdependence
familial
affection"
their
dynastically
themselves
(and
other
felt forced
In a system
to consolidate
of euergetism
and
the
the
evidently
and somewhat
overlap10),
an intriguing
As appears from the
solidarity.
sense
of mutual
the moral
sources,
in terms
and
of paternalism
expressed
in
op. cit. 236). The authorities,
(Van Bremen,
structured
of
position
private
power,
presented
of public interests
their families)
as the guardians
"was
9) Cf. P. Veyne, Le Pain et le Cirque: Sociologie historiqued'un pluralisme politique

(Paris 1976), 215-6.
10) P. Veyne, op. cit., passim. Cf. S. Humphreys, The family, women and death
(London 1983), ch. 2: Public and private interestin classical Athens. An illuminating
account of the social and ideological aspects of euergetism, especially with regard
to the period under discussion, is given by R. van Bremen, in: A. Cameron, A.
Kurth (ed.), Images of Women in Antiquity (London/Canberra 1983), 223-42, esp.
235-6.
114
for their part, could honour

people,
them with the titles 'father',
etc., 'of the city'. Striking
'mother',
demonstration
of familial affecare
of
the
mass
available
examples
were largely ceremonial,
but we
those utterances
tion. Of course,
concerned
were at
that the ceremonies
have the strong impression
and welfare
of all citizens.
least
rituals.
living
public mournings
all citizens
seem
The
are impassioned
for instance,
attested,
Widely
of a death in dynastic
families:
on the occasion
to have participated11).
both
Apparently,
parties
but also
not only aware of their economic

interdependency,
shared in each other's ups and downs.
willingly
were
We
asked
above
to what
extent
the ancient
novelists
admitted
Did they content themreality into their narratives.

contemporary
selves with a reference
of life or did they vento general conditions
ture to address their public in its own, more specific setting? The
seems
latter
to be true.
The
novelists'
reconstructions
imaginative
live and
in which their characters
of the time,
place and conditions

of the
remind us of the world the supposed
act, definitely
readership
novel lived in. Some essential
of this world, as far as we
features
I shall
in the mise-en-scene.
know it, seem indeed to be mirrored
now
give an example.
To us the most characteristic
mentioned
thanksgivings
of
demonstrations
the
above-
of interdependence
are
are
Also
attested
public
public mournings.
who
on behalf of a member
of the ruling families
and national
togetherness
the numerous
attested
feeling
could
from severe illness.
Such a happy recuperation
recuperated
this person
an exchange
of acknowledgements:
recovered,
provoke
while they for their part defray the
treats the people to a banquet,
costs
of the erection
There
solidarity
instance,
the fifth
specific
seems
to
of a statue
be
in the dramatic
more
world
at the agora12).
a shimmer
than
of the ancient
of
of
feeling
for
Chariton,
historical
setting in
this
novel.
a general
giving his narrative
the story with "just
B.C.,
century
provided
and characters
detail and fact to put the action
though
enough
in the
11) Cf. L. Robert, Laodic?edu Lycos. Le Nymph?e: cinqui?mepartie, les inscriptions

(Paris 1966), 85-6. More titles in Van Bremen, op. cit. 241, n. 72.
12) Cf. H. W. Pleket, Epigraphica II: Texts on the social history of the Greekworld
(Leiden 1969), 10-15 (= nr. 3).
115
In this world we are indeed touched

by some
world"13).
The
commitment.
of social
manifestations
people's
and
and Callirhoe
of Syracuse,
longing
seeing Chaereas
familiar
moving
assembly
families
in love but their distinguished
itself on their behalf
feud, concerned
their
separated
through a political
in convincing
and succeeded
Chaereas
Later
on, when
a wedding.
to arrange
in order
to set sail for Miletus
fathers
to seek his dearly missed

to pay for his
of Syracuse
decides
the city government
assembled
makes
the
And the lovers' safe homecoming
expedition.
of sympathy
while asking quescrowds burst into joyous utterances
prepares
Callirhoe,
tions
health
about
their
and
welfare.
adventures
and
caring
for
the
loving
couple's
if controvernow, I have left aside one characteristic,

the
to
Strikreferred
above.
sial, aspect of
system of 'euergetism'
female members
of the ruling elite families
played a
ingly enough,
role as benefactors.
could
own,
prominent
they
by
Apparently
or otherwise,
inheritance
This need not point,
enormous
fortunes.
III.
Until
of course,
to any real evolution
in women's
What
legal status.
D. M. Schaps found for the classical
and early Hellenistic
periods
also holds true for the ensuing
probably
periods in the Greek East:
though
women
control
than their Athenian

more legal freedom
enjoying
in the other Greek cities still seem to have had only
of their own properties14).
During the periods under
sion we find no sign of any real alternation.

of a wealthy
instances
public benefaction
the Greek East are no sufficient
grounds
sisters,
limited
discus-
Even
the many attested

in
women
by upper-class
for postulating
an actual
in women's
R. van Bremen
legal freedom.
may be
in stating that "the important
role
played by
public
members
of these elites has to be understood
rather as a
improvement
right indeed
female
result
of the
social
and
ideological
components
of the
system
of
13) G. L. Schmeling, Chariton (New York 1974), 79. On history and imagination in Chariton see: A. Billault, Aspects du romande Chariton, IL 33 (1981), 205-11.
Cf. alsoj. R. Morgan, History, Romance, and Realism in the Ethiopica, Classical Antiquity 1 (1982), 223-65. ?. P. Reardon, Theme, Structureand Narrative in Chariton,
YCLS 27 (1982), 1-27, illuminates from a literary-critical point of view the theme,
structure and narrative method of Chariton's story.
14) Cf. D. M. Schaps, Economic Rights of Women in Ancient Greece, Edinburgh
1979.
116
euergetism
legal and
economic
abundance
difference
Roman
of changes
in women's
consequence
cit.
Bremen,
op.
(Van
237). The
of their gifts should be related to the well-known
general
in wealth
between
the Greek
East in Hellenistic
and
times
In
her
appreciate
members
as a direct
than
and
freedom"
mainland
Greece
in the classical
Van
however,
argument,
"the
important
period.
seems
unable
Bremen
role
the
to
female
public
played
by
as such. I cannot
see, as she does, any
contradiction
between
this honourable
social posi(or ambiguity)
in the funerary
used
comtion and the epithets
inscriptions
of these
memorating
they were
elites"
The high esteem in which

women.
distinguished
held
is
as Van
Bremen
publicly
expressed,
rightly
from "the traditional
feminine
in wordings
derived
area
those
observes,
of modesty,
to husband
dedication
and family,
piety,
loving
or any social disqualificaI see no inconsistencies
etc.".
decency
have ordered
new ethics
the city government
tion. Why should
about
Would
public
It may
to be carved on their memorial

women
stones?
important
while
their
those women
themselves,
playing
prominent
roles, have felt any need to tamper with traditional
morality?
be,
"act within
other
tions
of
as Van
Bremen
hand, we should
no less than their
statues
and
other
(female)
personality.
We have to deal
interrelated,
points
created
the framework
historical
realize
that
permanent
monuments
with
the
facts:
to
out, that they were confined
their
male
relatives".
On
the
by
the grandeur
'physical'
strongly
of their
presence
suggests
benefac-
in the form
the
force
of
of two, in some way

clear evidence
activities
the fact of socially integrated
the
fact
that
and
they
individually,
by strong women,
operating
for their efforts
were rewarded
with words referring to "their tradior not we should assume any

Whether
qualities".
tionally feminine
a matter
between
these facts is basically
or ambiguity
contradiction
to
have
no
reason
At
we
of our personal
rate,
any
interpretation.
ladies
felt
far
were
those
ancient
as
as
concerned,
they
suppose that,
themselves.
any conflict
of the ancient Greek
As such they seem to live on in the heroines
come to the fore although
These ladies frequently
they are
These
fictional
and
faithfulness.
of
the
modesty
always
very picture
novels.
women
in love
would
not have
felt ashamed
of being
honoured
for

we find
qualities
in the real world.
in the epitaphs
for instance,
Chariton,
exalted
to stress
the fidelity
At the same time,
of their
does
beneficent
not miss
at by his heroine.
however,
trying to relieve
117
sisters
any chance
aimed
of Callirhoe's
heavy weight
a touch of subtle
loyalty,
Chariton
his audience
of the
us with
has obliged
to be able to call the
Dionysius,
eager
irony.
of Callirhoe's
first marattractive
woman his wife, but not knowing
easily consents
riage nor that she is already two months
pregnant,
to be the
father
of her
child.
in a position
to thank
his
Chariton
demonstrates
himself
he feels
afterwards,
shortly
for
'their'
newborn
Aphrodite
baby,
of humour:
subtle
sense
either
When,
is not really au fait with

not really faithful.
Callirhoe's
affair with Dionysius
Dionysius
Callirhoe
somewhat
the secrets
of reproduction
or
for the
playfully
compensates
of chastity that generally
applies
of the ancient novels.
have
Attempts
standard
overwhelming
to the conduct
of the heroines
on the ground
Callirhoe
that she married
It is several
she
was
Chaereas
Dionysius
thought
dead15).
at the end of book 3, that she learns from
months
later, however,
her first
been
steward
that
has
husband
killed.
Dionysius'
as
L.
was
G.
"too human
Apparently,
Schmeling
puts it, Callirhoe
been
made
to 'defend'
because
and
real"
of Greek
On
the
for the level

romance16).
other hand,
attained
by the other
of frivolity
element
contributes
It even seems
as a full character.
this
of Callirhoe
plausibility
been introduced
of morality
heroines
to the
to have
by the author in order to make her faithfulness

and in a more characteristic
clearly,
way. In her
own mind she does not break her pledge of loyalty,
and the na?vet?
of her reasoning
creates an atmosphere
of charming
self-deception.
stand
out
more
Pondering
Dionysius'
her decision,
having
proposal
day and
the
discussed
matter
night
with
she
finally reaches
Chaereas'
portrait,
15) So, for instance, T. M. Rattenbury, Chastity and Chastity Ordeals in Ancient
GreekRomances, Proc. of the Leeds Philos, and Liter. Soc.: Literature and History,
Section 1 (Leeds 1926), 63.
16) G. L. Schmeling, op. cit. 103. See on characterization in Chariton: T.
H?gg, Some Technical Aspects of the Characterizationin Chariton's Romance, in: Studi
classici in onoredi Q Cataudella, Catania Fac. di Lett, e Filos. 1972, 2, 545-56. Cf.
J. Helms, CharacterPortrayal in the Romance of Chariton, The Hague/Paris 1966.
118

to her stomach,
and with their unborn
child. There is no
to suppose
that in later antiquity
were able to
embryos
let alone to recommend
a second father for their protection.
hugged
reason
speak,
Yet Callirhoe's
advises her to safeguard

their life through
embryo
a marriage
with Dionysius
she delivers
Next
a
(Chariton
2.11.3).
fine example
of dialectics
that Chaereas,
whilst maintaining
who
in her dream and put their "son"
appeared
(?) under her care,
a new marriage
recommended
he only gave the
Actually,
(2.11.3).
without
child into the charge of its mother (2.9.6),
any indication
to her how to take her task.
In her own opinion
Callirhoe
does not commit
and we
adultery,
to endorse her view. Yet no one would deny that (even
feel tempted
in late Hellenistic
second
was
times17) ) Callirhoe's
marriage
bigamy.
In view
amusing
variation
sincerity
(and
of this fact her own justification

turns out to be an
of
in all
author
on
the
theme
faithfulness:
the
by
somewhat
imagining
(Chaereas),
she
whimsically)
that he is leading
invokes
his
her
wife
to
husband
the
new
As G. Anderson
house (2.11.3).
rightly
(Dionysius')
bridegroom's
Chariton
"is
a
is
to
that
deal
it
reasonable
out,
accept
good
points
I would
than his characters".
that
less naive
indeed,
suggest,
Callirhoe's
naive
be added
to the
casuistry
"string
"Hellenistic
gives
The
operetta"18):
in to the other.
ancient
novelists
So we should
another
remaining
were
fond
rhetorical
Chariton
faithful
paradox to
in his
produced
to the one
man
she
of feelings
and
behaviour
paradoxical
of the reversal
Callirhoe's
appreciate
inserted
entr'acte,
by the author in order to stress
As Schmeling
has
the usual virtuous
side of his heroine.
reality.
as a humorous
indirectly
constitutes
of paradoxes"
17) For the dating of Chariton's novel see: T. H?gg, op. cit. 5 f. In general on
bigamy: C. Vatin, Recherchessur le mariageet la condition de la femme mari?e? l'?poque
hell?nistique(Paris 1970), 204-5.
18) G. Anderson, Eros Sophistes: Ancient Novelists at Play (Chico: Scholars Press
1982), 21. In my opinion Anderson has greatly furthered our understanding of the
ancient novels. Leaving aside his ideas about the origins (as expounded in his
Ancient Fiction: The Novel in the Graeco-Roman World, London, etc., 1984), I fully
agree with the way he deals with the texts as such. In his view the ancient
romances "are best understood as humorous, technically expert play with literary
and rhetorical conventions, whose only goal is lighthearted entertainment of a
literate and sophisticated audience" (Helen Bacon in CW 78 (1985), 616).

put it, "her
act of faithfulness
developed
103). Just like the
story"
(Schmeling
remains
Chariton's
Callirhoe
basically
an all-round
other
119
tension
in the
'romantic'
heroines,
a paragon
of prudishness.
situation,
she, unlike her
However,
finding herself in a precarious
of
the
standard
in a
to
observe
sisters,
chastity
literary
prefers
At
the
of
his
end
narrative
rather than practical
theoretical
way.
affair
to Callirhoe's
returns
Chariton
with
a touch
of
piquant
she puts their 'common
at Dionysius
care. As the story tells us, the sending
son' under his 'father's
of
this letter was the only thing she did without
Chaereas
knowledge
But would Dionysius
have accepted
'his' son, if with him
(8.4.4).
she had not once done more 'without
Chaereas'
knowledge'?
in her farewell
humour:
All this does
letter
not keep
on her
her from
she
resolves
statements
making
(well-meant)
to meet the king's
insistence
loyalty.
Firmly
she states, would be
suicide (6.6.5).
One day with Chaereas,
Zeus (6.7.12).
when she
more than eternal life alongside
Finally,
sees Chaereas
again, both of them fall in a faint four times (8.1.8-
with
manifestation
of love, in its characteristically
10). This ultimate
to
has been faithful.
melodramatic
tells
us
whom
Callirhoe
form,
as G.
has
Molinie
made clear19),
her
convincingly
of
not make her insensitive
to the feelings
other
and Callirhoe
touches
us all the more, when, at the moment
However,
faithfulness
did
men,
of complete
she remembers
her former patron,
who so
happiness,
with
to
be
her.
She
has
a
subtle
dearly
happy
understanding
of his situation
and feels obliged
for all he
to express her gratitude
wanted
did.
So she writes
same
magnanimity
Persian
captured
the letter
that also characterizes
queen,
in freedom
This
(8.3.8).
ture of what Callirhoe
Chaereas,
who would
whom
above.
The
her attitude
she courteously
noble
gesture perfectly
on
really is: a queen
the
to
make
Persian
prefer
19) G. Molinie,
knows
how to handle
text reveals
towards
the
the
permits to go home
fits in with the picher
own.
queen
situations.
Unlike
her servant
In many
is the stronger
Callirhoe
of the two leading
respects
personality
In fact, she happily deals with all kinds of difficult situacharacters.
fails. For instance,
his letter to
tions, while her partner repeatedly
the Great King,
in a way comparable
with Callirhoe's
letter to
(8.3.1),
Callirhoe
mentioned
delicate
Chariton: Le roman de Chair?as et Callirho? (Paris 1979), 22-41.
120
is marred by mean reproaches

one
Dionysius,
Despair,
(8.4.2-3).
of the story,
seems
to have been
of the favourite
ingredients
reserved
for the male hero. Chaereas
dwells
extensively
especially
on his miserable
and
situation
for the time
to see Callirhoe
wretched
and
a coward,
I cling
not
consented
personality.
Having
he
her
to
witness:
"most
calls
being,
I accept the ban to see you! Like

This comto life and let myself be ruled!" (5.2.5).
I am that
wicked
the woman's
typifies
being pure genre, conversely
plaint,
though
at
as
laments
her
situation
but
art: Callirhoe,
often
Chaereas,
just
her
with
own
decisions.
as
Chaereas
at
never,
does,
Compared
Chaereas
Callirhoe
looks
'heroic
like some
softy'
(G.
Molini?,
op.
cit. 31).
Faced
where
Callirhoe
even succeeds,
situation
with a precarious
some kind of ironical detachnever does, in displaying
who commends
the feelings
ment. She warns the Persian eunuch,
of his king to her attention,
not to try to catch a slave: "I won't be
Chaereas
myself worthy of the king. I only am on equal

women"
of the Persian
handmaidens
(6.5.9).
footing
no
of the story Callirhoe
is a real personality,
From the beginning
in
free
to
the
of
a
whether
she
be
matter
person
position
happens
so mad
as to deem
with
the
and suspicions
which make him
Chaereas'
jealousy
Against
full
"like a true general's
she behaves
his balance,
daughter:
fails
to
in
the
hero
When
1.4.12
male
of self-confidence"
(1.3.6).
of the
control
himself
and even grinds his foot into the midriff
or not.
lose
heroine,
Chaereas'
no reader
will
and
Callirhoe's
All differences
between
confirm
venture
stories
to claim
about
the difference
between
moralities.
Chaereas
the above-mentioned
for their
scene
feel dubious
in terms
actually seem to
of the novelists
"to set the
and Callirhoe
tendency
of a real human
that the character
of Callirhoe
I do not
society".
be
conceived
might
I only want to sugkind of female 'benefactor'.

Callirhoe's
to the contemporary
readership
gest that, presumably,
As we saw, people were
moral surplus value would be no surprise.
on the part of women.
On the
behaviour
to prominent
accustomed
to funerary
other hand they were accustomed
(and other) inscripof as that of some
with references
female
prominence
honouring
and other traditionally
feminine
qualities.
decency
in Callirhoe's
This paradox
seems
to be mirrored
tions
behaviour.
It seems
to be
reflected
even
more
to modesty,
clearly
ideals
and
and
con-

in
sistently
the
role
of
the
Charicleia,
heroine
of
121
Heliodorus'
deal with the unforeseen",

courageously
with
but Charicleia
herself,
being confronted
a stranger who asks for her hand in public,
starts off by reminding
women
and that her 'brother'
should
the man that silence becomes
Aethiopica. "Women
we are told (4.13.8),
most
do the talking.
She goes on speaking
about her advenextensively
in postponing
the perfortures, and with tact and flattery succeeds
if yet possible,
mance
of a rejected,
The
marriage
(1.21.6-22.9).
a paradox
passage
tersely illustrates
in similar other scenes of Heliodorus'
tone
but
Theagenes,
chastity.
to marry
sword
When
with
and frequently,
find
in
the
same
novel,
bantering
At last the chaste virgin gives in to her
in Chariton.
we found
for the time

in some
another
but Charicleia
we also,
she tends
being
dangerous
situation
to preserve
her very
both of them are forced
person,
Theagenes
eloquently
appeals
knows the true salvation:
the sacrifice
to the
of his
for the sake of hers (7.25.8).

In the end they are captured
in before the king Hydaspes,
and both brought
whom she knows to
be her father. Charicleia
calms down nervous
and tells
Theagenes
him what they have to do, but, when addressed
she
by Hydaspes,
silence
and
lets
her
do
the
keeps
partner
talking (9.25.3).
innocence
Pieces
other
'double
of a comparable
are to be found in the
entendre'
as well, and often we see the "ancient
at
novelists
novels
with performances
of their heroines
and their
play" (G. Anderson)
heroines'
male partners in the fields of word and action. When,
for
the virgin Leucippe
in a sacred cave is being checked
for
instance,
virginhood,
to let his
8.13.4).
ancient
who himself lost chastity,

asks Pan
Clitophon,
ardently
beloved
"come
back to us a virgin"
Tatius
(Achilles
All evidence
a
to
favourite
rhetorical
theme
in
points
fiction:
the
of paradoxical
feminine
actions
and
topos
behaviour.
in a world of men, the heroines
know how to
Portrayed
handle their situation
so as to get what they want out of it, and at
the same time how to ignore their ingenuity.
pattern,
though being a literary motif on its own, is in keepa
with
social
in which women
climate
could play a prominent
ing
role within the limits of a fixed position,
as they could for instance
This
in a system
of euergetism
and Charicleia's
(v. supra). Callirhoe's
decisive
and influential
contributions
to 'their' stories, no less than
the activities
of an Antigone,
a Penelope
or an Iphigenia,
remain
"within
the
bounds
of
acceptable
female
behaviour".
Mary
122
Lefkowitz
and
has shown
drama
limitations
courageous
Generally
The strong
"masculine
do exert
that the "influential

their
influence
women"
of classical
without
the
epic
social
exceeding
that apply to them: they even felt obliged to display their
actions on grounds
derived from their very position20).
speaking,
they were acting on behalf of their families.
female
of classical
personalities
women"
(S. B.
masculine
role (H.
Greek
nor
literature
did
were no
an
Pomeroy)
they
E.
C.
did
essentially
Foley,
They only
Sorum).
what the audience
have expected
from women
of a high
might
moral standing
who are confronted
with any complications
in the
assume
The heroines
of the ancient
Greek novels likewise
private sphere.
within the scope of the acceptable.
Their audience,
howoperated
for whom "the distinction
women
ever, even knew of (upper-class)
between
had disappeared,
private and public life" (Van Bremen)
in other words:
role was socially
for whom
a prominent
public
accepted.
In a lavishly
emphasized
substantial
mind,
tary
documented
that
and sensible
heroines
of
the
their
article
Brigitte Egger has

could only exercise
To my
attractiveness21).
novel
their erotic
through
one should allow them a more
influence
however,
role, and
safeguard
the
with
this
innocence.
I do not
Though
refer
not
intentional
to their
anxious
any
possessing
a traditional
and,
displaying
paradoxically,
power
are in fact the often
our heroines
feminine
behaviour,
in
actual social intercourse.
influential
partners
or volunefforts
to
real
legal
of
pattern
decisively
the only ancient novelist who managed

to concenLongus,
on love itself and in doing so found a most successful
way to
all the same adopted the 'female
deal with happy love in literature,
Even
trate
paradox'.
first sight
Chloe's
In his Daphnis and Chloe the feminine

and masculine
at
mark
a
and
is
seem
to
sexual
nowhere
difference,
only
at length
or with any emphasis.
described
Yet
modesty
20) Mary R. Lefkowitz, Influential Women, in: A. Cameron, A. Kurth (ed.),

Images of Women in Antiquity (London/Canberra 1983), 49-64.
21) Brigitte Egger, Zu den Frauenrollenim griechischenRoman, in: H. Hofmann
(ed.), Groningen Colloquia on the Novel, I (Groningen 1988), 33-66. Dominance of
the heroines has recently been stressed by Renate Johne, in: H. Kuch (ed.), Der
antike Roman: Untersuchungenzur literarischenKommunikation und Gattungsgeschichte
(Berlin 1989), 150-77: Zur Figurencharakteristikim antiken Roman, esp. 155-9.

there
are some
123
hints.
sworn by Pan that in the future they

Having
each other, Daphnis
and Chloe leave the cave
of the Nymphs.
The girl, however,
"as being but a girl", does not
trust Apollo's
nor her own attractiveness,
and she asks
protection
for another
on
the
this
time
of
flock
Much
oath,
goats (2.39.3-5).
will not live without
later, when the landlord

cannot
"bear so strong
But she knows
(4.14.1).
delicate
dominance
manner,
in many
his retinue
and
visit
the country,
Chloe
into the wood
a presence"
and she flees
her own worth all the same.
has
given
situations.
his
heroine
in his
Longus,
certain
personal
than
years younger
two
Though
Chloe is the first to feel any erotic sensation
when watchDaphnis,
and she keeps playing
a leading
ing the other (1.13.3),
part in the
course of their sexual discoveries.
One day she is the judge
in a
and another boy, with a delightful
beauty contest between
Daphnis
kiss of her own at stake (1.15-17).
In this situation
and in all other
situations
of excitement
unlike Daphnis,
Chloe,
keeps her wits22).
The difference
about amusing
scenes,
as, for instance,
brings
when the boy asks the girl to lie down naked with him longer than
she used to do, and to imitate
"what rams do to ewes, and billies
to she-goats"
Chloe does give in, but only after
(3.14.2)
drawn her 'male's'
to the fact that animals remain
attention
she has
upright
with their own hairy
that, moreover,
they are thickly clothed
makes decisive
in the right
moves
pelt. In summertime
Daphnis
he
but
succeeds
thanks
to
the
sense
of his partdirection,
only
good
ner. Going against her wishes he carries out daredevil
feats in order
to pick a beautiful
apple from the very top of a tree. When he puts
it into her bosom,
Chloe forgets her anger and rewards
him with
one of her enchanting
kisses (3.34.7).
and
With
such
sweet nothings
albeit indirectly,
seems to
Longus,
his
heroine
of
the
female
we disgiven
something
paradox
cussed above:
her
like
sisters in ancient
combines
Chloe,
fiction,
whenever
she handles complex
and difficult
coyness with command
have
situations23)
3583
SB Utrecht,
Gerard
Doustraat
11
22) On the female in Longus see: A. M. Scarcella, La donna nel romanzodi Longo
Sofista, GIF, n.s. 3 (1972), 63-86.
23) I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. J. den Boeft, Dr. J. N. Bremmer and Prof. Dr. K. R. Busby for many helpful suggestions.

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The Ancient Greek Novel and Its Heroines: A Female Paradox

Mnemosyne, Vol. XLIII,

Fase. 1-2 (1990)

with the settings

pieces of entertainThey tried to make their books agreeable

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

of prose fiction were anxious not

while dating Chariton,

one, the structurally

and the area of its distribution.

picture is given by T. H?gg, who,

1) A fundamental study is: A. D. Papanikolau, Chariton und Xenophon von

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

whence it spread over the world during the first cenAlexandria4),

of prose fiction in antiquity

enough reasons to suppose that already the ancient writers of fiction

4) Modem historiography concerning ancient prose fiction has a sound basis

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

and other literates7),

up, more or less definite

from this outline we

may go into detail and check

where it came into being in the

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

on the countryon the big city

for people belonging

9) Cf. P. Veyne, Le Pain et le Cirque: Sociologie historiqued'un pluralisme politique

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

for their part, could honour

not only aware of their economic

Did they content themreality into their narratives.

place and conditions

11) Cf. L. Robert, Laodic?edu Lycos. Le Nymph?e: cinqui?mepartie, les inscriptions

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

In this world we are indeed touched

to seek his dearly missed

if controvernow, I have left aside one characteristic,

than their Athenian

sion we find no sign of any real alternation.

the many attested

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

The high esteem in which

to be carved on their memorial

of two, in some way

with words referring to "their tradior not we should assume any

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

is not really au fait with

for the level

by the author in order to make her faithfulness

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

advises her to safeguard

of this fact her own justification

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

All this does

that also characterizes

Chariton: Le roman de Chair?as et Callirho? (Paris 1979), 22-41.

THE ANCIENT GREEK NOVEL AND ITS HEROINES

is marred by mean reproaches

for the time

I accept the ban to see you! Like

myself worthy of the king. I only am on equal

that the character

I only want to sugkind of female 'benefactor'.