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.