Achilles Tatius (in Greek Aχιλλευς Τατιος) was a Roman era Greek writer whose fame is attached to his only surviving work, the erotic romance The Adventures of Leucippe and Cleitophon. The Roman Era is a period in Western history, when ancient Rome was the center of power of the world around the Mediterranean Sea, where Latin was the lingua franca. ... DeFoes Robinson Crusoe, Newspaper edition published in 1719 A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ...

Life and minor works

Very little is known of the author; and the little which is known from the sources, represented by Photius and the Suda, are often misleading. This is the case with Heliodorus' romance Aethiopica, which the Suda erroneously places in the 5th century CE and considers the source of Leucippe and Cleitophon; far from it, modern scholars believe, on the ground of papyrus finds connected to the latter romance, that the author must have lived between the second half of the 2nd century and the first half of the 3rd century. Instead, it is generally accepted that he was a rhetorician of Alexandria. Photius (b. ... Suda (Σουδα or alternatively Suidas) is a massive 10th century Byzantine Greek historical encyclopædia of the ancient Mediterranean world. ... Heliodorus of Emesa, from Emesa, Syria, was a Greek writer generally dated in the 3rd century of the Common Era, and is known for the ancient Greek romance or novel called the Aethiopica (the Ethiopian Story) or sometimes Theagenes and Chariclea. According to his own statement, his fathers name... // Overview Events Romulus Augustus, Last Western Roman Emperor 410: Rome sacked by Visigoths 452: Pope Leo I allegedly meets personally with Attila the Hun and convinces him not to sack Rome 439: Vandals conquer Carthage At some point after 440, the Anglo-Saxons settle in Britain. ... The Common Era (CE), also known as the Christian Era and sometimes as the Current Era, is the period beginning with the year 1 onwards. ... Blank papyrus. ... // Events Roman Empire governed by the Five Good Emperors (96–180) – Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. ... // Overview Events 212: Constitutio Antoniniana grants citizenship to all free Roman men 212-216: Baths of Caracalla 230-232: Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east 235-284: Crisis of the Third Century shakes Roman Empire 250-538: Kofun era, the first... Rhetoric (from Greek ρήτωρ, rhêtôr, orator) is one of the three original liberal arts or trivium (the other members are dialectic and grammar) in Western culture. ... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria Αλεξάνδρεια (in Arabic, الإسكندرية, transliterated al-ʼIskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. ...

The Suda also ascribes to the author a work on the sphere (in Greek περι σφαιρας), a fragment of which professing to be an introduction to the Phaenomena of Aratus is still extant (in Greek Eισαγoγη εις τα Aρατoυ φαινoμενα). This work is referred to by Firmicus Maternus, who about 336 speaks of the prudentissimus Achilles in his Matheseos libri (Math. iv. 10). The work itself is considered of no particular value. The fragment was first published in 1567, then in the Uranologion of the Jesuit scholar Dionysius Petavius, with a Latin translation in 1630. The same source also mentions a work of Achilles Tatius on etymology, and another entitled Miscellaneous Histories; as both are lost, it is impossible to determine which Achilles was their author. Aratus (Greek Aratos) (ca. ... Julius Firmicus Maternus, a Latin writer and notable astrologer, who lived in the reign of Constantine and his successors. ... Events January 18 - Marcus elected pope. ... Events The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Denys Petau (August 21, 1583 - December 11, 1652), Jesuit scholar, better known as Dionysius Petavius, was born at Orléans. ... Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... Etymology is the study of the origins of words. ...

Leucippe and Cleitophon

Achilles' romance, The Adventures of Leucippe and Cleitophon (in Greek τα κατα Λευκιππην και Kλειτoφων) has came down to us in its entirety, divided into eight books.

The plot is as follows:

At the book's start, the romancer is approached by a young man called Kleitophon who is induced by a picture to talk of his adventures. Kleitophon begins telling how he was born in Tyre and fell in love with Leucippe, his cousin (despite his being already promised in marriage to his own half-sister Kalligone). He sought the advice of another male cousin (Kleinias), who was experienced in love (he had a young male lover). After a number of tender scenes, Leucippe returned Kleitophon's love, but Kleitophon's father began preparing his son's marriage to his sister. This marriage was avoided however when a young man from Byzantium (Kallisthenes), hearing of Leucippe's beauty, came to Tyre to kidnap Leucippe, but by mistake kidnapped Kleitophon's sister. For a wheel tyre, see the article under the US English spelling of the word, tire. ... Byzantium was an ancient Greek city-state, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas. ...

Kleitophon attempted to visit Leucippe at night in her room, but her mother was awakened by an ominous dream. Fearing her reprisals, Leucippe decided to elope with Kleitophon, his servant and his cousin. The group boarded a ship and met another unhappy lover (Menelaos, responsible for his own boyfriend's murder). The ship encountered a storm and was broken apart. Leucippe and Kleitophon came to Egypt, but they were captured by Nile delta bandits. Kleitophon was rescued, but Leucippe was sentenced to be sacrificed. Kleitophon witnessed the sacrifice and went to commit suicide on her grave, but she was in fact still alive and the sacrifice had been staged by his captured friends using theatrical props. NASA satellite photograph of the Nile Delta The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. ... It has been suggested that Suicide and culture be merged into this article or section. ...

Although the group seemed finally safe, an Egyptian general fell in love with Leucippe, and she then fell stricken in a state of madness. This madness was the effect of a strange love potion given her by another rival, but Leucippe was saved by an antidote given by a helpful stranger (Chaireas). At the destruction of the camp of the Nile bandits, the lovers and their friends made for Alexandria, but were again betrayed: Leucippe was kidnapped from a banquet by Chaireas and during the boat pursuit to rescue her, the kidnappers chopped her head off and threw her to the waves. Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria Αλεξάνδρεια (in Arabic, الإسكندرية, transliterated al-ʼIskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. ...

Kleitophon returned to Alexandria distraught, but a widowed lady from Ephesus (Melite) fell in love with him and convinced him to marry her. Kleitophon refused to consummate the marriage till they should be in Ephesus. Once there, while visiting the lady's lands, he discovered Leucippe, who was still alive... another woman had been decapitated in her stead and she had been sold into slavery. The widowed lady's husband (Thersandros) -- who was also still alive -- returned home, and this jealous husband attempted to both rape Leucippe and frame Kleitophon for murder, with the help of his servant (Sosthenes). Ephesus (Greek: Έφεσσος; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster river flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). ...

Eventually, Kleitophon's innocence is proven (he has also remained almost chaste: he slept with Melite only once); Leucippe proves her virginity by entering the magical temple of Artemis; Leucippe's father (Sostratos) comes to Ephesus and it is revealed that Kleitophon's father gives the lovers his blessing. The lovers can finally marry in Byzantium, Leucippe's town, and Kleitophon's sister's kidnapper is also shown to have become a true and honest husband. The Artemis of Versailles, a Roman copy of a Hellenistic marble sculpture, now at the Louvre Museum. ...

Analysis

The first appraisal of this work comes from Photius' Bibliotheca, where we find: "the diction and composition are excellent, the style distinct, and the figures of speech, whenever they are employed, are well adapted to the purpose. The periods as a rule are aphoristic, clear and agreeable, and soothing to the ear". To this Photius added a moralistic bias that would long persecute the author: "the obscenity and impurity of sentiment impair his judgment, are prejudicial to seriousness, and make the story disgusting to read or something to be avoided altogether." Past scholars have passed scathing comments on the work, as that present in the 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), which brands the novel's style as artificial and labored, full of incidents "highly improbable", and whose characters "fail to enlist sympathy". Today's judgements tend to be more balanced, valuing the elements of originality that the author introduces in the genre of the romance. Photius (b. ... Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... As a literary genre, romance refers to a style of heroic prose and verse narrative current in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. ...

The most striking of these elements may be considered the abandonement of the omniscient narrator, dominant in the ancient romance, for a first person narration. To this is added Achilles Tatius' use of ecphrasis: the novel opens with an admirable description of a painting of the rape of Europa, and also includes descriptions of other paintings such as Andromeda being saved by Perseus and Prometheus being liberated by Hercules. In literature, an omniscient narrator is a narrator who appears to know everything about the story being told, including what all the characters are thinking. ... The Narrator is the entity within a story that tells the story to the reader. ... Ecphrasis or ekphrasis (from Greek ek out + phrasis speaking, verb ekphrazein, to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name) in modern times is taken to be the graphic, often dramatic description of a visual work of art while anciently the word applied to a description of any things, persons... It has been suggested that Europe (disambiguation) be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Boast of Cassiopeia. ... Perseus with the head of Medusa by Antonio Canova. ... This article is about the mythological figure; for other uses, see Prometheus (disambiguation). ... Hercules and Cacus, by Baccio Bandinelli, 1525 - 1534. ...

Achilles Tatius takes pleasure in asides and digressions on mythology and the interpretation of omens, descriptions of exotic beasts (crocodiles, hippopotami) and sights (the Nile delta, Alexandria), and discussions of amorous matters (such as kisses, or whether women or boys make better lovers). His descriptions of confused and contradictory emotional states (fear, hope, shame, jealousy, and desire) are exemplary ("baroque" conceits such as these would be frequently imitated in the Renaissance). There are also several portrayals of almost sadistic cruelty (Leucippe's fake sacrifice and, later, decapitation; Kleitophon chained in prison or beaten by Melite's husband; Prometheus's torture) that share much with Hellenistic sculpture (such as the "Dying Gaul" or the "Laocoön and his Sons"). The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from μυολογειν mythologein to relate myths, from μυος mythos, meaning a narrative, and λογος logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the... Omens or portents are signs encountered fortuitously that are believed to foretell the future. ... Genera Crocodylus Osteolaemus Tomistoma See full taxonomy. ... Binomial name Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus, 1758 The Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), from the Greek ‘ιπποπόταμος (hippopotamos, hippos meaning horse and potamos meaning river), is a large, plant-eating African mammal, one of only two living, and three or four recently extinct, species in the family Hippopotamidae. ... By region Italian Renaissance Spanish Renaissance Northern Renaissance English Renaissance French Renaissance German Renaissance Polish Renaissance The Renaissance, also known as Il Rinascimento (in Italian), was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution, religious reform and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... Dying Gaul - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Statue of Laocoön and his Sons, Vatican Museum, Rome The statue of Laocoön and his Sons, also called the Laocoön Group, is a monumental marble sculpture, now in the Vatican Museums, Rome. ...

The romance's modern editions

The large number of existing manuscripts attests the novel's popularity. A part of it was first printed in a Latin translation by Annibal della Croce (Crucejus), in Lyon, 1544; his complete translation appeared in Basel in 1554. The first edition of the Greek original appeared in Heidelberg, 1601, printed together with similar works of Longus and Parthenius; another edition was that published by Salmasius in Leiden, 1640, with a voluminous commentary. The first important critical edition came out with Friedrich Jacobs in Leipzig, 1821. A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... City motto: Avant, avant, Lion le melhor. ... Events April 11 - Battle of Ceresole - French forces under the Comte dEnghien defeat Imperial forces under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin. ... Location within Switzerland Basel (English traditionally: Basle , German: Basel , French: Bâle , Italian: Basilea ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerlands second-largest urban area as of 2003). ... Events January 5 - Great fire in Eindhoven, Netherlands. ... Heidelberg (halfway between Stuttgart and Frankfurt) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ... Events February 8 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed February 25 - Robert Devereux beheaded Jesuit Matteo Ricci arrives in China Bad harvest in Russia due to rainy summer Dutch troops drive Portuguese from Málaga Battle of Kinsale, Ireland Births... Longus was a Greek novelist and romancer, and author of Daphnis and Chloe. ... The name Parthenius may refer to one of several persons: the Greek grammarian and poet Parthenius of Nicaea the Armenian Saint Parthenius Hierarch Parthenius, bishop of Lampsacus one of several Patriarchs of Alexandria one of several Patriarchs of Constantinople the chief chamberlain of Domitian (died 96) a silver-chaser mentioned... Claudius Salmasius is the Latin name of Claude Saumaise (April 15, 1588 - September 3, 1653), a French classical scholar. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... (help· info) [] (Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk) is the largest city in the Federal State (Bundesland) of Saxony in Germany. ... 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

There are translations in many languages. The first English translation was William Burton's The Most Delectable and Pleasaunt History of Clitiphon and Leucippe, first published in 1597 and reprinted in 1999; it was followed by those of Anthony Hodges (1638), R. Smith (1855), S. Gaselee (1917), J. Winkler (1989), and Tim Whitmarsh (2001). William Burton may mean: William George Burton (1774-1825), printer and author William Evans Burton (1804-1860), his son, actor and playwright William Burton (1789-1866), governor of Delaware William Burton (1888-1944), mayor of Hamilton, Ontario This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... Events 17 January - A court case in Guildford recorded evidence that a certain plot of land was used for playing “kreckett” (i. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Events March 29 - Swedish colonists establish first settlement in Delaware, called New Sweden. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX in Roman) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

A first partial French translation (most likely based on the Latin edition) appeared in 1545 by Philibert de Vienne. The first complete French translation was published in 1568 by François de Belleforest. Events March 23 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. ... François de Belleforest (born 1530, died 1583) was a French author and translator. ...

Influence

Leucippe and Clitophon is the key source for The Story of Hysmine and Hysminias, by the 12th century AD Greek author Eustathius Macrembolites (or Eumathius). This book was frequently translated in the Renaissance. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Eustathius(or Eumathius) surnamed Macrembolites (living near the long bazaar), the last of the Greek romance writers, flourished in the second half of the 12th century AD. His title Protonobilissimus shows him to have been a person of distinction, and if he is also correctly described in the manuscripts, as...

Leucippe and Clitophon is also imitated in Historia de los amores de Clareo y Florisea by the Spanish writer Alonso Nuñez de Reinoso (Venice, 1552). This novel was translated into French as Les Amours de Florisee et Clareo et de la peu fortunee Ysea by Jacques Vincent (Paris, 1554).

A French adaptation of Achilles Tatius' novel (with significant changes) was published as Les adventureuses et fortunees amours de Pandion et d’Yonice (1599) by Jean Herembert, sieur de la Rivière.

See also

Other ancient Greek novelists:

• Chariton - The Loves of Chaereas and Callirhoe
• Xenophon of Ephesus - The Ephesian Tale
• Heliodorus of Emesa - The Aethiopica
• Longus - Daphnis and Chloe

Chariton, of Aphrodisias in Caria, the author of a Greek romance entitled The Loves of Chaereas and Callirhoe, probably flourished in the 4th century AD. The action of the story, which is to a certain extent historical, takes place during the time of the Peloponnesian War. ... Xenophon of Ephesus (fl. ... The Ephesian Tale of Anthia and Habrocomes by Xenophon of Ephesus is a novel belonging to the mid second century of the Common Era. ... Heliodorus of Emesa, from Emesa, Syria, was a Greek writer generally dated in the 3rd century of the Common Era, and is known for the ancient Greek romance or novel called the Aethiopica (the Ethiopian Story) or sometimes Theagenes and Chariclea. According to his own statement, his fathers name... Longus was a Greek novelist and romancer, and author of Daphnis and Chloe. ... Longus was a Greek sophist and romancer, and author of Daphnis and Chloe. ...

References

• "Achilleus Statios" in the Suda
• "Achilles Tatius" in the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911)
• Del Corno, Dario; Letteratura greca (1988)
• Photius, Bibliotheca, J.H. Freese (translator) (1920)
• Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, "Achilles Tatius", Boston, (1867)
• Leukippe and Kleitophon synopsis

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, a publication in the public domain. Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... Photius (b. ... Sir William Smith (1813 - 1893), English lexicographer, was born at Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents. ... Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is a encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... The 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) is the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1867). The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is a encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. ... Sir William Smith (1813 - 1893), English lexicographer, was born at Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents. ...