Heliodorus of Emesa
Heliodorus Emesenus or Heliodorus of Emesa (Template:Langx) is the author of the ancient Greek novel called the Aethiopica (Script error: No such module "Lang".) or Theagenes and Chariclea (Script error: No such module "Lang".), which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD.[1]
Identification
He identifies himself at the end of his work as
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
a Phoenician from Emesa [modern Homs, Syria], of the line of Helios [also translated as: 'from the race of the sun'[2]], Theodosius' son Heliodorus[3]
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
According to Tim Whitmarsh, 'from the race of the sun' "looks like a claim to hereditary priesthood," though "uncertainties" remain.[2] According to The Cambridge History of Classical Literature, "the personal link here established between the writer and Helios has also a literary purpose, as has Calasiris' flashback narrative"[3] Template:Crossreference. The later tradition maintaining that Heliodorus had become a Christian bishop is likely fictional.[2]Template:Efn
Quoting Richard L. Hunter,
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
The Emesenes were a culturally complex group, including Arab, Phoenician and Greek elements, and, since the third century at any rate, having a connection with the Roman imperial household (the empress Julia Domna was from Emesa, as was the cult of Elagabal which inspired the emperor Heliogabalus).[4]
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
See also
Other ancient Greek novelists:
- Chariton – The Loves of Chaereas and Callirhoe
- Xenophon of Ephesus – The Ephesian Tale
- Achilles Tatius – Leucippe and Clitophon
- Longus – Daphnis and Chloe
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Template:Cite EB1911
- Heliodoros, Aithiopika, ed. Robert Mantle Rattenbury, Thomas Wallace Lumb (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, three volumes, 1935–1943)
External links
- Script error: No such module "Gutenberg".
- Aethiopica (English translation) at Elfinspell