Greek Fiction: The Greek Novel in Context

Greek fiction has been attracting greater attention as a result of new approaches associated with gender studies, narrative theory and the social analysis of ancient literature. Recent work on the novel, or "romance" has concentrated on the so-called canon of Greek fiction: Xenophon of Ephesus, Heliodorus, Longus, Chariton and Achilles Tatius. Much attention has been focused on the definition of the genre and its possible origins. This volume aims to widen the terms of the definition of the genre while providing a synoptic treatment of the most important works of Greek fiction. Greeks began writing prose fiction in the fourth century BC and the tradition continued for a millenium and a half. Fiction was used not only for entertaining romances but also as a framework for Christian and Jewish religious literature and for "historical" novels.