Two Novels from Ancient Greece

Stephen M. Trzaskoma is Associate Professor of Classics, The University of New Hampshire.

Since these texts first found their way into the mainstream of Classics instruction twenty years ago, the need for new translations has become obvious, not only because of the textual and theoretical advances made in the interim, but because of demand for examining them in broader contexts. For both surveys of Greek and Roman literature and courses on the history of prose fiction, that demand has now been elegantly met. Trzaskoma's translation, based on greatly improved Greek texts, shows a sophisticated appreciation of the range in vocabulary and tone within Chariton, and similarities and differences in style between Chariton and Xenophon become easily apparent. Chariton may be a naïve romance by some classifications, but the text's intertextual dimensions, described in a helpful introduction that avoids prescribing how to interpret these texts, are now made much clearer. The copious annotations not only provide topical references but also mark the wide range of literary allusions and parallels. From every angle these texts have received a detailed rethinking. The Chariton and Xenophon I thought I knew have become much richer and more compelling texts. Any student of the ancient novel, and any teacher wanting to create more students of the ancient novel, needs to read this book. --Joel C. Relihan, Professor of Classics, Wheaton College (Norton, Mass.)