Jump to content

Aethiopica

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the encyclopedia, seeEncyclopaedia Aethiopica.
Theagenes receiving the palm of honour from CharicleabyAbraham Bloemaert,1626 (Mauritshuis)

TheAethiopica(/ˌiːθiˈoʊpɪkə/;Ancient Greek:Αἰθιοπικά,Aithiopiká,'Ethiopian Stories'[1]) orTheagenes and Chariclea(/θiˈædʒəˌniːz ... ˌkærɪˈkliːə/;[2]Ancient Greek:Θεαγένης καὶ Χαρίκλεια,Theagénēs kaì Kharíkleia) is anancient Greek novelwhich has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD.[3]It was written byHeliodorus of Emesaand is his only known work.

Author

[edit]

The author of theAethiopicaidentifies himself upon ending his work in this manner:

According toRichard L. Hunter,

The Emesenes were a culturally complex group, includingArab,Phoenician andGreekelements, and, since the third century at any rate, having a connection with the Roman imperial household (the empressJulia Domnawas from Emesa, as was the cult ofElagabalwhich inspired the emperorHeliogabalus).[6]

In the words ofTim Whitmarsh,ἀφ' Ἡλίου γένος(aph’ Hēlíou génos) "looks like a claim to hereditary priesthood," although "uncertainties" remain.[7]According toThe Cambridge History of Classical Literature,"the personal link here established between the writer andHelioshas also a literary purpose, as has Calasiris' flashback narrative "[8](see§ Plot summary). The later tradition maintaining that Heliodorus had become a Christian bishop is likely fictional.[7][a]

Circulation and Western rediscovery

[edit]
Folio from a MS. of theAethiopicain the library ofBessarion(Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana,Gr. 410)

The novel continued to circulate during the Middle Ages amid the Greek readership in theByzantine Empire.For example, it is mentioned in the will, dated 1059, ofprotospathariosEustathios Voilas, to be bequeathed among several of his books to a monastery which he had founded.

TheAethiopicawas first brought to light in Western Europe during theRenaissancein a manuscript from the library ofMatthias Corvinus,found at the sack ofBuda(now the western part ofBudapest) in 1526, and printed atBaselin 1534. Othercodiceshave since been discovered.[9]

It was first translated into French by the celebratedJacques Amyotin 1547. It was first translated into English in 1569 byThomas Underdown,who used the 1551 Latin translation ofStanisław Warszewickito create hisAethiopian Historie.It was printed several times byGabriele Giolito de' Ferrariin theRepublic of Venice(1556, 1560, 1586) in an Italian translation from Greek byLeonardo Ghini.

Style

[edit]

TheAethiopicais indebted to the works ofHomerandEuripides.The title is taken from the fact that the action of the beginning and end of the story takes place inAethiopia.[9]

The work is notable for its rapid succession of events, the variety of its characters, its vivid descriptions of manners and of scenery, and its simple, elegant writing style.[13]But what has been regarded as most remarkable is that the novel opens in the middle of the story ( "in medias res"), and the plot is resolved by having various characters describe their prior adventures in retrospective narratives or dialogues, which eventually tie together. Homer utilized this technique in both his epic poems, theIliadand theOdyssey.This feature makes theAethiopicastand out from all the other ancient Greek romances.[citation needed]

Plot summary

[edit]
Chariclea Led Away by Pirates(c. 1634–35), a tapestry from the Paris workshop of Raphael de la Planche based on design bySimon Vouet

Chariclea, the daughter of King Calasiris and Queen Persinna ofAethiopia,was born white through the effect of the sight of a marble statue upon the queen during pregnancy (an instance of the theory ofmaternal impression). Another version attributes Chariclea's birth to Queen Persinna seeing a painting of a white woman, "brought down by Perseus naked from the rock, and so by mishap engendered presently a thing like to her."[14]The painting showsAndromeda,an Ethiopian princess. Fearing accusations of adultery, Persinna abandons her baby daughter but leaves her with three gifts: an inscribed ribbon with Ethiopic characters, a necklace, and a ring. The ring has magical powers and is described as, "it is set with a jewel called pantarbe and inscribed with certain sacred characters (γράμμασι δὲ ἱεροῖς); it is full, it seems, of a supernatural and mystic property (τελετῆς θειοτέρας) which I think must have endowed the stone with the power to repel fire and bestow immunity from the flames on its wearer.”[15]Sisimithras, agymnosophist,finds the baby and takes her to Egypt. Sisimithras places her in the care of Charicles, aPythianpriest. Chariclea is then taken toDelphi,and made a priestess ofArtemis.

Theagenes, a nobleThessalian,comes to Delphi and the two fall in love. He runs off with Chariclea with the help of Calasiris (kalasiris), anEgyptianwho has been employed by Persinna to find Chariclea. They encounter many perils: pirates, bandits, and others. The main characters ultimately meet atMeroëat the very moment when Chariclea is about to be sacrificed to the gods by her own father. Her birth is made known, and the lovers are happily married.[9]

Influence and adaptations

[edit]

Heliodorus' novel was immensely influential and was imitated byByzantine Greeksand by French, Italian, and Spanish writers.[16]

The early life of Clorinda inTorquato Tasso'sJerusalem Delivered(canto xii. 21 sqq.) is almost identical with that of Chariclea.[9]

The structure, events, and themes of the European adventure novel of the first half of the seventeenth century—Madeleine de Scudéry,Marin le Roy de Gomberville,Miguel de Cervantes'sPersiles and Sigismunda,and likelyAphra Behn'sOroonoko—were directly modeled on Heliodorus's work. It was adapted by the French dramatistAlexandre Hardyunder the titleLes chastes et loyales amours de Théagène et Cariclée(published in 1623). John Gough, an English dramatist ofCharles I's day, based his tragicomedyThe Strange Discovery(published in 1640) on theAethiopica.It was also adapted intoan operawith a French libretto by Duché de Vancy and music byHenri Desmarets.French dramatistJean Racineclaimed that Heliodorus' novel was his favorite book and when, after he had joined the ascetic Jansenist retreatPort-Royaland the book had been repeatedly taken away from him, Racine is reported to have said that the loss of the book no longer mattered since he had already memorized it.[17][18]

The work's influence continued to be felt in the eighteenth century novel (especially in those having a "tale within a tale" structure).

Canadian writerAlice Munrorefers to the novel in her short story "Silence" which also explores the theme of a mother detached from her daughter. The story was published in the bookRunaway(2004).

Editions

[edit]
  • Heliodoros,Aithiopika,ed.Robert Mantle Rattenbury,Thomas Wallace Lumb (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, three volumes, 1935–1943)

See also

[edit]

Other ancient Greek novelists:

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^Socrates Scholasticus(5th century AD) identifies the author of theAethiopicawith a certain Heliodorus, bishop ofTrikka.Nicephorus Callistus(14th century) relates that the work was written in the early years of this bishop before he became aChristianand that, when forced either to disown it or resign his bishopric, he preferred resignation.[9]Most scholars reject this identification.[10][11][12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Häussler, Ralph; Chiai, Gian Franco, eds. (2020).Sacred Landscapes in Antiquity: Creation, Manipulation, Transformation.ISBN9781789253276.
  2. ^Dictionary of Phrases and Fables.Vol. 2. 1895. p. 1218.OCLC162165677.
  3. ^Lane Fox, Robin(1989).Pagans and Christians.p. 118.
  4. ^"Elfinspell".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-04-02.Retrieved2009-09-13.
  5. ^Ηλιοδώρου Αιθιοπικών(PDF).Vol. 1. 1824. p. 446.
  6. ^Hunter, Richard L.(1998).Studies in Heliodorus.p. 97.
  7. ^abWhitmarsh, Tim (2008).The Cambridge Companion to the Greek and Roman Novel.p. 72.
  8. ^Easterling, P. E.; Knox, B. M. W. (1993) [1985].The Cambridge History of Classical Literature.Vol. 1, part 4. p. 136.ISBN0521359848.
  9. ^abcdeOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Heliodorus".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 223.
  10. ^Holzberg, Niklas.The Ancient Novel.1995. p. 78
  11. ^Bowersock, Glanwill W.The Aethiopica of Heliodorus and the Historia Augusta.In:Historiae Augustae Colloquian.s. 2,Colloquium Genevense 1991.p. 43.
  12. ^Wright, F.A.Introduction to Aethiopica.n.d.
  13. ^Chisholm 1911.
  14. ^Heliodorus,Aethiopicabook 4
  15. ^Heliodorus,Aethiopicabook 8
  16. ^Margaret Anne Doody,The True Story of the Novel(Rutgers University Press, 1996).
  17. ^Tüchert, Aloys (1889).Racine und Heliodor(in German). Buchdr. von A. Kranzbühler. p.4.
  18. ^Racine, Jean (1639–1699) (1870).Oeuvres de Jean Racine, précédées des Mémoires sur sa vie, par Louis Racine, nouvelle édition, ornée du portrait en pied colorié des principaux personnages de chaque pièce. Dessins de MM. Geffroy,... et H. Allouard.p. 5.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toAethiopica.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aethiopica&oldid=1216811759"