Prose fiction, although not always associated with classical antiquity, did in fact flourish in the early Roman Empire, not only in realistic Latin novels but also and indeed principally in the Greek ideal romance of love and adventure to which they are related. Popular in the Renaissance, these stories have been less familiar in later centuries. Translations of the Greek stories were not readily available in English before B.P. Reardon’s excellent volume.

Nine complete stories are included here as well as extant summaries or fragments of ten others, encompassing the whole range of classical themes: ideal romance, travel adventure, historical fiction, and comic parody.

The stories here, in their own right, will interest readers of narrative fiction, and several of them, the Alexander-Romance, for example, have had considerable importance and influence in various periods of literary history.

Contents:

• Chaereas and Callirhoe by Chariton
• An Ephesan Tale by Xenophon of Ephesus
• Leucippe and Clitophon by Achilles Tatius
• Daphnis and Chloe by Longus
• An Ethiopian Story by Heliodorus
• The Ass by Pseudo-Lucian
• A True Story by Lucian
• Alexander Romance by Pseudo-Callisthenes
• The Story of Apollonius King of Tyre [Anonymous]
• Summaries (of lost ancient novels)
• Fragments