Heliodorus Emesenus or Heliodorus of Emesa () is the author of the ancient Greek novel called the Aethiopica () or Theagenes and Chariclea (), which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD.
Identification He identifies himself at the end of his work as
According to Tim Whitmarsh, 'from the race of the sun' "looks like a claim to hereditary priesthood," though "uncertainties" remain. 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" . The later tradition maintaining that Heliodorus had become a Christian bishop is likely fictional.
Quoting Richard L. Hunter,
See also Emesene dynasty 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
Heliodoros, Aithiopika, ed. Robert Mantle Rattenbury, Thomas Wallace Lumb (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, three volumes, 1935–1943)
External links
Aethiopica (English translation) at Elfinspell