Chariton's Erotic History

Author(s): Jean Alvares

Source: The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 118, No. 4 (Winter, 1997), pp. 613-629
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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EROTIC

CHARITON'S
Jean

It is clear

that

numerous

HISTORY

Alvares

personages

and events

of Chaireas

and

or are in some

are either taken directly from history

way
a
materials.1 The work has been considered
on historiographical
historical romance,2 yet its mixture of genuine historical fact, gross inacof drama,
of Chariton's period,3 and reflections
curacies, anachronisms
oratory, and epic4 suggests to some that Chariton merely aims to pro?
Callirhoe

based

a "general
of Greek history, to titillate the readers"
colouring
I
believe
Chariton had larger aims. Building upon
1996,
327).
(Reardon
the insights of Edwards (1987, 29-51) into how Chariton depicts Aphro?
dite's influence upon politics and society, I consider here how Chariton
from history in order to provide a contrast to
adapts familiar elements
vide

!For example, Hermocrates, Ariston, Statira, and Artaxerxes are historical fig?
ures. Mithridates may recall a Mithridates that, according to Ktesias, Statira helped be?
come satrap. The Egyptian rebellion probably recalls the revolt of 404 B.c. and Chaireas
the Athenian Chabrias who fought for King Tachos around 360 b.c. Chaireas' victories re?
call Alexander's conquest of Tyre and the Athenian defeat of the Persian navy. See
Bartsch 1934,1-34; Schmeling 1974, 51-56, 76-80; Zimmerman 1961;Plepelits 1976,16-17;
Perry 1967, 77-78; Hunter 1994, 1055-61; Salmon 1961.
2On Chaireas and Callirhoe as a historical novel see Hagg 1987;also Ruiz-Montero
1996, 47.
3I find convincing a date in the early Empire, but before the blossoming of Atticism and the Second Sophistic, most probably mid- to late first century a.d. See Perry
1967,108-9; Plepelits 1976, 8; Ruiz-Montero 1980, 64-67; Reardon 1996, 319-25.
4Mithridates' trial before the Great King best demonstrates this mixture. For ex?
ample, the court's eagerness to see Callirhoe recalls the appearance of Penelope before
the suitors in Odyssey 18 and the Teichoskopia of Iliad 3. The trial itself combines tradi?
tional conceptions of the Great King as judge, translations of Roman administrative prac?
tice (such as the imperial conventus) into a Persian setting, and details of generic Greek
legal practice, such as the paragraphe (5.7.3). Chariton stresses the superiority of the
Greek ethos to that of the barbarians as he shows the proceedings corrupted by the lusts
of the Persians. Yet at the same time, the role of the Great King, as understood by himself
and his underlings, also reflects Stoic-Cynic notions of the ideal ruler. See Bartsch 1934,
5-7; Bowersock 1994, 41-42; Karabelias 1990, 393-95 and n. 109; Ruiz-Montero 1989,
138-41; Zimmerman 1961, 331-32, 339, 341; Schmeling 1974, 117-18.
Journal
ofPhilology
American
118(1997)
613-629
? 1997
Press
byTheJohns
University
Hopkins

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614

JEAN ALVARES

usual political and social significances

are athistory, as those elements'
and
in
turn
for
tenuated or ignored
as they
become evidence
the operaThus a Greek assembly pleads for the marriage of
tions of Aphrodite.
an eros-obsessed
revolt, and the hero,
teenagers,
satrap contemplates
against his erotic rival, mimics the deeds of Alexan?
seeking vengeance
to produce an outline (not a full-fledged
nar?
der. I use these elements
rative) of an "alternative"
history of Syracuse, one that suggests a more
values are pursued
with the
history wherein
Aphrodisian
satisfying
same vigor as those of conventional
history.51 do not assert that Chari?
ton intended his work to be read as a type of history or even as a his?
torical novel;61 merely wish to reveal the historical narrative that is con(with much else) within the text and its significance.
To provide context for this reading I begin with Muller's observa?
to epic inasmuch
as
tion that Chariton offers his work as a successor
Chaireas and Callirhoe concerns a heroic period of Greek history that
had by Chariton's
time become
legendary.7 For such "epic" and "mytained

such as those of Thucydides,

accounts,
history, traditional
thologized"
raw
such
as
Homer
became for later poets,
become
material,
simply
to be altered according to the au?
dramatists and rhetoricians?material
thor's

purposes.8

Further,

as Bowersock

notes,

starting

at roughly

the

5By "conventional history" I denote historical narratives like those of Herodotus

or Thucydides.
6I consider Greek novels as light entertainment for the educated, and Chaireas and
Callirhoe directed to those who, like Chariton, had a "decent secondary education" but
were by no means "very well read" as might by contrast be said of Longus or Heliodorus.
See Reardon 1996, 323; also Bowie 1985, 688; Wesseling 1988, 77.
7Miiller 1976,131-34. See also Scholes and Kellogg 1966, 57-81.
8Ruiz-Montero (1996, 42-48) gives a good account (with bibliography) of the rela?
tionships between dramatic or tragic history, Hellenistic biography, and the Greek novel.
The conventions of these genres would encourage some readers to respond to Chaireas
and Callirhoe as a type of history or biography. I must also at least mention the vexed
question of the extent to which Greek and Roman historians and their readers felt that
"fictional" elements?whether made-up persons, events, or sequences of events?could
be incorporated into historical writing. My own position is that ancient historians were
more concerned with history's ability to reveal general truths than its import as a collec?
tion of specific facts. Thus even a Thucydides will invent or alter historical details so what
they signify becomes clearer. Lesser historians invented even more freely, although all respected a certain "core" set of facts that could not be radically altered. This wide variety
of treatment of historical facts could lead to a confusion, even among supposedly edu?
cated people, between fact and fiction. Thus Diodorus incorporates the utopian romance
of Iambulus (2.55-60) and Euhemerus (5.41.4) into his world history. For an introduction,

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CHARITON'S EROTIC HISTORY

615

conven?
appeared that challenged
an alternative
version of famous
or myth by presenting
the account of the Trojan War offered under the
events: for example,
the glorious
name of Dictys of Crete.9 I suggest that, for Chariton,
remote and myperiod of Syracuse's victory over Athens is sufficiently

time of Nero,
tional history

various

literary

works

to be the legitimate
object of a similar rewriting, an "alter?
thologized
that pursuit of the values of Aphro?
native" history which demonstrates
dite and Eros can bring the sort of success achieved
by the heroes of
histories. The outlines of such an alternative
conventional
history can be
extracted

from Chaireas

and Callirhoe.

alternative
erotic history is an
point for Chariton's
a
state
whose
excellence
makes it a fitting
Syracuse,
unique
the
A long-standing
for
Chaireas
and
Callirhoe.
birthplace
exceptional
idealized
and
tradition
Hermocrates
for their wealth
literary
Syracuse
and unexpected
defeat of Athens.10 The Syracuse of Chaireas and Cal?
The

starting

idealized

lirhoe is a city with recognizably

Hellenic political and social institutions
that work in surprising harmony.11 Hellenistic
and Roman historiogra?
fall
often
connect
rise
and
of
states
and
the
individuals
to their
phy
character and actions; similarly, the social harmony and success of these
fictive Syracusans
are linked to their willingness
to follow the influence
of Aphrodite,
whose politically beneficent
effects are observed early on.
and
Initially a fierce political rivalry exists between Hermocrates
Ariston

(1.1.3-4). Such rivalries were a common historiographical

topos
as weil as a present reality of the Greek East.12 They often brought civic

with some bibliography, to these questions see Wiseman 1993; Morgan 1993; Feeney 1993;
Woodman 1988, 197-212. Finally, Chariton's own text indicates a concept of history that
includes properly mythological events. Dionysios, amazed at Callirhoe's supernatural
beauty, questions his bailiff about the circumstances surrounding her arrival, suspecting
that Callirhoe is a divine being: "xouxo exelvo- uia Nuu^cov r\ NrjQTjtdtov
ex OaXdaaTjg
avekr\kvQe.xaxaXafupdvouai de xai daijiovag xaiQoi,xiveg eijiaQuivTjgdvdyxTjvc|>eQOvxeg
6|niXiag|biex'dvOodmcov xauxa r\\ilwioxoqovoi Jtoirrraixe xai aDYYQacbeig"
(2.4.8-9). Such
divine liaisons are thought appropriate material for guyyQ0^8^ as weh as poets. For other
examples of the confusion between mythology and history see Bowersock 1994, 8-13.
9See Bowersock 1994, 1-28; also Merkle 1994.1 would argue, however, that Xeno?
phon's Cyropaideia, which rewrites the history of Cyrus and Persia to illustrate Xeno?
phon's conception of ideal kingship, represents the earliest such "alternative" history. See
Tatum 1989, Stadter 1991.
10See Bompaire 1977; Billault, 1989; Pernot 1981.
11See Alvares 1993, 153-67; Ruiz-Montero 1989, 113-18.
12C. P. Jones 1971,112. For a fine
example of such rivalry see C. P Jones 1978,101-4.

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JEAN ALVARES

616

disaster, but here Eros, "who is a lover of victory and rejoices

doxes set straight," decides that the rivals' two children should

in parabe mar-

ried and arranges their meeting. Chaireas and Callirhoe fall in love, and,
to marry, begin to waste away (1.1.4-10). At the next schedforbidden
uled assembly
the Syracusans,
dominated
by Eros the demagogue,
ig?
to marry his
nore all other public business and instead beg Hermocrates
would be "the first among his [Her?
Hermocrates,
(1.1.11).
being fyikoTcaxQic,, relents
mocrates']
trophies"
as all preand allows the marriage. The assembly is abruptly canceled
the
celebrate
"with
more
for
which
the
plea?
wedding,
Syracusans
pare
daughter

to his rivaPs son, which

sure than the day of their victory" (1.1.13-4).

method
of presenting
Chariton's
This early episode
exemplifies
of
and
motifs
conventional
that
both
recall
events
history and
episodes
and
values.
different
historical
forces
For
example, like
yet signify very
history, Love in Chaireas and Callirhoe is stronger
Tyche in Hellenistic
to overthrow
stan?
than human will or custom,13 and seems determined
a
of
dard political expectations.14
instead
Thus,
making
political mar?
of
a
Callirhoe
marries
the
with
a
leader
son of her fa?
nearby city,
riage
of young lovers become the business of a
that Hermocrates,
the marriage, is
public assembly,
having permitted
of the marriage with more
(^ikoitaxQiq,15 and the celebration
designated
joy than after a famous victory, all represent a conscious transformation
of the civic values of conventional
This transformation,
historiography.
ther's

rival. That the affairs

makes perfect sense in the context

and cooperating
with Aphrodite,
knowledging
of
force, the Syracusans
gain a desideratum
of a dangerous
dissolution
rivalry.16
political
however,

many benefits

arising

from devotion

of this history; for by acwho is a potent historical

conventional

history: the
This will be the first of
to the values of Aphrodite.

13Konstan1994, 32-33; Fusillo 1989, 208.

14Chaireasand Callirhoe purposely contrasts the power of Tyche to that of Love.
The account of Theron's discovery demonstrates the widespread Hellenistic belief in the
power of Fortune: "And Fortune brought to light the truth, without whom nothing is accomplished" (3.3.8). Yet later Aphrodite overrules Tyche's plan to have Chaireas leave
Callirhoe behind on Arados (8.1.2-3). Both Eros and Tyche can be seen as servants of
Aphrodite. See Reardon 1982.
15Thisdesignation for a leader appears at Aphrodisias frequently in the Imperial
Period. See Ruiz-Montero 1989, 117;Robert 1965, 215.
16Inan interesting sidelight, Beck (1996, 138) notes an inscription which describes
how Sarapis orders his cult to be introduced at Opus and in the process reconciles two po?
litical enemies. See IG X.2 1.255 = Totti no. 14 (1st cent. a.d.).

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617

CHARITON'S EROTIC HISTORY

conflicts between
Sicilian history relates numerous
Syracuse and
its neighboring
states. Chaireas and Callirhoe transfers this struggle to
suitors are rulers and sons of tyrants
the realm of the erotic. Callirhoe's
that Chaireas has wed
from Sicily and the mainland
(1.1.2). Informed
to murder Chai?
the son of the tyrant of Rhegium
Callirhoe,
proposes
but the tyrant of Acragas points out that open warfare
reas (1.2.2-4),
and proposes
instead to fight Chai?
(f| ex c()avefjoD \icL%r\)is impossible
reas by guile. He then asks the suitors to elect him "general in the war
against Chaireas" (1.2.5). And, after one setback, the suitors win this
war,17 as Chaireas, provoked
falls down as if dead.

into a jealous

rage, kicks

Callirhoe,

who

Out of respect for Hermocrates

Chaireas is quickly tried for mur?
der (1.5.3). This haste suggests that the population
wishes to give Her?
mocrates the opportunity
to avenge his daughter's murder as quickly as
possible. The whole demos, shouting various opinions,
gathers for the
while
the
the
suitors
stir
crowd
trial,
up
1.5.3). Such de?
(e&rip.oxojtouv,
of
an
excited
demos
and
scriptions
activity are a common
demagogic
feature

of rhetoricians'

1983, 22).
picture of Greek civic life (Russell
Disaster
Chaireas will be destroyed
and
threatens,
since, if convicted,
Ariston disgraced.
Note that Chaireas, demanding
his own execution,
declares: "I have taken the crown (&jteoT8(J)dva)oa)
from the demos"
as if his crime were political, not private (Edwards
1987, 43).
(1.5.4-5),
But instead Hermocrates,
his daughter's wishes, pronounces
respecting
Chaireas innocent,
and the jury concurs. Hermocrates
and the Syracu?
san demos, unified in their desire to honor Callirhoe's love for Chaireas,
avoid an error with dangerous
political implications.
As often noted, Callirhoe is the palpable manifestation
of Aphro?
dite's power.18 By joining with Chaireas in marriage, Callirhoe gives the
from the divine force she repreSyracusans
hope of further blessings

17Laplace(1980, 88-89) points out how this episode also recalls the activities of the
suitors of Helen of Troy. Many of Chariton's scenes recall the myths of Helen, as seen in
Homer and the Cyclic poets or in drama, especially Euripides' Helen.
18Manyscenes present Callirhoe as an apotheosis of the goddess herself. Crowds
become awestruck by her beauty as if by a divine epiphany and Callirhoe is sometimes
mistaken for a goddess. See 1.1.1-2, 1.1.16,2.3.6-7, 3.2.17, 4.1.19, 4.7.5-7, 8.6.11. For further
discussion see Muchow 1988, 75-87; Helms 1966, 42-45; Ruiz-Montero 1989,126; Laplace
1980,121-22; Scott 1938, 385-86; Edwards 1987, 29-51. However, Reardon (1996, 328-29),
while acknowledging the importance of Aphrodite, sees her influence as "less than sys?
tematic."

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618

JEAN ALVARES

like Syracuse's
living Palladium,19 the embodiment
of divine favor. Accordingly,
the announcement
of Callirhoe's
death
and like a notable
(1.5.1) is likened to the fall of a city (Perry 1930,129),
of
political figure, she is given a state funeral attended by all segments
the population
After Callirhoe
is kidnapped
(1.6.3-4).
by the grave-

sents.

She is rather

robber

that although Hermocrates

had defeated
Theron, her complaint
three hundred Athenian
warships, he could not keep one small boat
from carrying off his daughter (1.11.2) suggests the equal historical im?
which will be proved accu?
portance of the two events, an equivalence
rate, for this kidnapping
prompts Chaireas to begin his career, whose
successes will surpass those of Hermocrates.
of lovers (however
Some separation
minor) is a common motif in
the extant Greek romances. But only in Chaireas and Callirhoe does the
entire state strive to reunite the lovers, as if this were a matter of highest political import.20 This corporate mission to regain Callirhoe recalls
the mythical panhellenic
effort to recover Helen;21 yet the workings of
the Syracusan
and Hermocrates
also recall conven?
demos, assembly,
tional history and thereby allow Chariton's erotic alternative
history to
of the Syracusans'
demonstrate
the superiority
conduct.
eros-inspired
Thus Hermocrates

finds his countrymen

far more willing to recover a
did
and the Syracusans
lost wife than
demonstrate
a so?
Agamemnon,
cial harmony born of common
devotion
to Aphrodisian
values. When
Callirhoe's
tomb is found empty, the citizens mobilize: "triremes were
launched, and many took part in the search" (3.3.8). After
immediately
Theron

is found

Aphrodite),22

his

due to the machinations

of Tyche (and, one suspects,
takes place in the assembly
interrogation
(3.4.3-

19Callirhoeis called an dyak\ia (1.1.1), and in Ionia her statue is beside Aphrodite's
(3.6.3).
20The closest parallel is found in Heliodorus' Eithiopica, where the citizens of
Meroe intercede on behalf of Characleia and Theagenes (10.15-40). There too the father
finally gives in and, by altering the age-old custom of human sacrifice, allows the marriage
with consequent benefit for the state.
21See Laplace 1980, 84-85. Unlike Helen, Callirhoe
represents more than a captivating, destructive menace. Despite the irregularity of her bigamous (but forced) marriage
to Dionysios, Callirhoe seeks to uphold high standards of female probity. The passivity,
obedience, and suffering of the young lovers in romance balance the self-assertion im?
plicit in their marrying partners of their own choosing, and thus they confirm the patterns
of familial control and social order. See Muchow 1988, 75, 93-98,135-36; Heiserman 1975,
283.
22Chariton states that it was Tyche who allowed Theron to be discovered while becalmed at sea. However, the link between Aphrodite and the sea is weil known, and it is

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CHARITON'S EROTIC HISTORY

619

3.4.14), where the truth is revealed when the archons give a lowly fisherman the liberty to speak.23 When Hermocrates
proposes an embassy to
seek Callirhoe in Asia, the whole assembly shouts "Let us all sail," and
most of the Boule volunteers
then picks two men
(3.4.17). Hermocrates
from

the

the demos)
and two men from the
assembly
(representing
the aristocracy)
to seek Callirhoe together.
(representing
The search for Callirhoe
is part of Aphrodite's
of
punishment
Chaireas and initiates his career as future leader. His voyage to recover
Callirhoe
recalls Menelaus'
to Troy as well as historic con?
expedition

Boule

flicts between
Phocas,
Persian
Phocas
would

Greek

and Persian

forces

on the Ionian

coast. Thus when

he leads out a
bailiff, learns of Chaireas' objective,
Dionysios'
the
to
burn
its
and
crew.
We note that
garrison
ship
capture
thus acted "to put off something
terrible and quench a war that
not be great or widespread,
but only concerning
Dionysios'

household"

(3.7.2). Though Chariton is being ironic (this certainly would

no Trojan War!) nevertheless
the aborted military conflict
and Chaireas should be seen in the light of Chaireas'
between Dionysios
future conflict with the Great King and his navy.
have

been

The episodes
set in Ionia and Asia likewise
demonstrate
the
of love as a historical force and similarly transform familiar hisa process epitomized
elements,
toriographical
by Miletus'
temple of
Homonoia
altars, statues, and temples of Homo(3.2.16). Traditionally

power

noia were

dedicated
to harmony between warring social classes as well
as to peace between cities.24 This cult was familiar to Chariton's readerwas also a popular literary and political topic in the
ship.25 Homonoia

quite possible that Chariton intends his reader to imagine Aphrodite the cause of Theron's fate. Edwards (1987, 44 n. 66) refers to the cult of Aphrodite Euploia who enjoyed a
vigorous cult in Asia Minor and the nearby islands. See also Mellink 1978; Farnell 1897,
636-38; Solmsen 1979, 56-57.
23Such supervision by the archons
probably reflects the practice of the Hellenistic
and later periods, when the public's right to address the assembly was curtailed; see
A. H. M. Jones 1940, 164. But the influence of Aphrodite here breaks down such social
barriers.
24See Plepelits 1976,174 n. 81;Ruiz-Montero 1989,114. Edwards (1987,29-30 n. 20)
further points out that coins from Aphrodisias feature a statue of Aphrodisian Aphrodite
in a conversation with the statues of other cities, under which grouping is written homonoia. Such a temple at the romance's dramatic date, however, is anachronistic, since these
temples belonged to the Hellenistic and Imperial eras.
25At Aphrodisias a dedication was made to Homonoia and Roma in the second
century b.c. See Reynolds 1982, document 1, 6-11.

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620

JEAN ALVARES

herself was sometimes

of
conceived
Imperial period.26 Yet Aphrodite
as a protector
of Greek officials (Sokolowski
1964), and Aphrodisias
with the cult statues of various
minted coins that depicted
Aphrodite
Chariton replaces the cuscities accompanied
by the word homonoia.27
of the cult of Homonoia
with purely erotic
tomary political associations
the center of a marriage custom, thereby
as this temple becomes
be?
best
that
serves the city by creating homonoia
suggesting
Aphrodite
tween man and wife.28
ones,

Callirhoe
During her erotic anabasis29 from Miletus to Babylon,
the lead?
becomes the obsession
of ever more powerful men: Dionysios,
the
Persian
man
of
Mithridates
and
Ionia;
Pharnaces,
satraps; and fi?
ing
with
The Great King's infatuation
King, Artaxerxes.
be viewed in the context of accounts of Persian history
as a series of court and harem intrigues that goes back to Ctesias and
Duris and can be seen in Plutarch's Life of Artaxerxes.3? Again, Chari?
ton expands upon a preexisting
tradition, here to suggest the influence

nally the Great

Callirhoe should

of eros upon Persian political life. Thus in Chaireas and Callirhoe, al?
with Pharnaces,
Mithridates
the neighboring
had quarreled
though
is motivated
solely by passion
satrap, Pharnaces'
appeal to Artaxerxes
must pro?
for Callirhoe (4.6.2). As in conventional
histories, Artaxerxes
tect himself against his satraps and fears that if he does not act, Mithri?
dates will be encouraged
to treat him with disrespect
Mithri?
(4.6.6-7).
intends to seize Callirhoe and revolt, and only
dates, when summoned,
her unexpected
departure prevents him (4.7.1). Thus Chaireas and Cal?
lirhoe presents quarrels between
satraps, the watchful scrutiny of the
Great

rebellion?typical
King, and contemplated
motivated
and Callirhoe.
history?as
by Aphrodite

elements

of Persian

26Dio of Prusa wrote discourses on homonoia, as did Aelius Aristides. The political
rhetoric of Vespasian, Trajan, and Hadrian likewise frequently mention homonoia. See
Ruiz-Montero 1989, 114-15.
27See Edwards 1987, 30-31 n. 20; Vermule 1968, 160-61. And see note 24 above.
28Chariton's era shows an increased appreciation of marriage. Coins and funeral
epitaphs stress sophrosyne and philandria as well as homonoia, and such marital concord
is stressed, for example, by Plutarch in his Advice to the Bride and Groom as well as by
Musonius Rufus. See Ruiz-Montero 1989,131-33.
29The party of Mithridates, as it heads toward Babylon, is called a oxokoz, sent out
by Eros, a term that often denotes a military expedition. The party of Callirhoe and Dio?
nysios is likewise denoted (4.7.5). See Laplace 1980, 96.
30Bartsch 1934, 5; Zimmerman 1961, 339.

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CHARITON'S EROTIC HISTORY

621

erotic power exerts an even more baleful

At Babylon
Callirhoe's
The role of
upon the Persian leaders' ability to rule effectively.
arbiter of justice had figured promithe Persian king as the supreme
onward.31 And here, as has
nently in Greek literature from Herodotus

effect

of the
been noted, the trial at Babylon combines traditional conceptions
of Roman administrative
Great King's judicial role, translations
prac?
of
tice into a Persian context, and details of Greek legal practice32?all
MithriAs
the
trial
eros
Callirhoe.
which are subverted
and
begins,
by
correctly answers that
5ixavixa)g
\iev eurtev 6
ou5eva
ejteiBev
Aiovuoioc;,
yap Jtdvxeg KaXXiporiv
EJteBi^ow
jtXf]v
i6etv (5.4.11). Royal justice is undercut by passion, and the peers must
absence. Dionysios
objects to Callirhoe's
she has no role in the case, but to no avail: xama
dates

Callirhoe's
Great King to demand
presence.
Mithridates
has been acquithas
and
Later,
reappeared
true hus?
ted, the Great King sets a date to decide who is Callirhoe's
band. But on the night before the judgment is due, the King, unable to
decides to feign a dream from the royal gods
face giving up Callirhoe,

find

an excuse

for the

after Chaireas

Thus the Great King,

a month of sacrifice (6.1.6-12, 6.2.2-4).
demanding
of eros, not only fails in his role as supreme ar?
through the influence
Persian religion as well.33
biter of justice but undermines
Another activity particularly
associated
in history with Persian noand as training
King was hunting, both as recreation
subverts the royal
for war.34 In Chaireas and Callirhoe eros likewise
a hunt to take
hunt. Earlier the head eunuch, Artaxates,
had suggested
the infatuated
king's mind off Callirhoe. The lavish tableau of the Great
bles and the Great

out (6.4.1-3)
recalls the royal hunt's usual literary/cultural
But
here
his
significances.
riding gear is like the extravagant
plumage
birds flaunt to attract a mate,35 and, overcome
by eros, the Great King
King riding

31Notice, for example, in Herodotus' description of the Median monarchy, that

Deioces becomes absolute ruler through his efforts as judge (1.96-97).
32Karabelias 1990, 393-95; Zimmerman 1961, 341.
33Artaxerxes' religious role is evident; he is considered a god among his people
(xaxcx:n;?:n;^r|Yaai
yag Jidvxeg ol pdopaooi xai Oedv (t>av?Qovvoul^ovai xov paailea,
3.7.12), and his quasi-divinity is linked to the worship of the paaileioi Oeoi invoked by
Mithridates (5.7.10) and later by Artaxerxes (6.2.2).
34Cook 1983,142; J. K. Anderson 1961, 57-76. See, esp. in reference to the depiction
of the importance of hunting as training, Tatum 1989, 110-11.
35As is made clear by the text: xaOfjaxo 6e aopaooc; eaxi ydo i'6iov ' Eowxog (xo)
()>iA6xoaux)vfjOeta 6e uiaog vno KaMioong ooaGfjvai, xai 6id xfjg jio^ewg djidang e^icbv
Jieoieptajiev ei'nov xdxeivn Oeaxai xr\v jioujuiv (6.4.3).

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622

JEAN ALVARES

It is apparently
fantasies of Callirhoe
(6.4.5-7).
indulges in voyeuristic
the King that he can possess Callirhoe
now that Artaxates
convinces
without violating his own laws on adultery (6.4.7).36 Thus not only does
Eros cause the King to transgress his own laws on proper erotic behav?
of the royal hunt, granted its traditional sym?
ior, but Eros' trivialization
of the decline of
bolic value, can be linked to the historical
question
of
and foreshadows
the later incompetence
Persian military excellence
the Persians in the Egyptian rebellion.
conflicts were a notable feature of Greek cities in the
Factional
Classical period and during the Roman Empire. In Chaireas and Cal?
lirhoe such divisions are inspired by erotic concerns. As Callirhoe
ap?
her
will
the
noblewomen
fear
that
loveliness
Persian
proaches Babylon,
in Chaireas
for beauty (5.3.1)?which
their own reputations
undermine
equals political status. They approach Queen Statira and,
at her urging, hold a virtual assembly37 with debates and voting in order
to Callirhoe's
Afterwards
to pick a challenger
Baby?
beauty (5.3.3-5).
lon is divided over the coming trial: the aristocrats support Mithridates,
with Dionysios
while the ordinary people sympathize
(5.4.1), and all
if
em
for
the
trial
as
xov
Babylon prepares
JtoXe^iov
piyiaxov
(5.4.1).

and Callirhoe

in conventional
And just as war and its causes figure prominently
here
events
the
so
the
of
rebellion
fully reveal
historiography,
Egyptian
the
the influence of Aphrodite.
Indeed nearly all
central participants
are
exists between de?
motivated
by erotic concerns, and a close correlation
to erotic values and military success. To start from the lowest de?
the nameless Egyptian king has strictly conven?
gree of erotic devotion,
tional goals: political freedom
for Egypt, and territorial conquest.
His
greatest success, the conquest of Tyre, is achieved only by the efforts of
the erotic hero, Chaireas. He is finally defeated
and forced to commit

votion

suicide

whose heroics are largely motivated

by Dionysios,
by hope the
Great King will reward him with Callirhoe. Yet simple devotion to love
is not quite enough for Dionysios;
the rule of the romances seems to be
"one mate for life." Dionysios'
first wife is dead, but his relationship

36The text is somewhat defective at this point. See Reardon 1989, 94 n. 97.
37Note that now, as in a Hellenic assembly, differing views are put forth about pos?
sible challengers, after which "there was voting by hands as if in a theater" (xetQOtovia 6e
rjv (bg ev Oedxoq),5.3.4). Such voting seems strange in autocratic Persia, but here again, as
during the investigation of Theron, Chariton wishes us to see the democratizing effects of
the erotic.

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CHARITON'S EROTIC HISTORY

623

survives,
betrays that earlier love.38 Thus while Dionysios
is to raise the child of another man, which Callirhoe
his only consolation
has made him believe his own. The Great King, in turn, is on the point
While the
intervenes.
of forcing Callirhoe when the Egyptian rebellion
on defense of his empire, he nevertheless
Great King must concentrate
When Tyre is lost,
is brought along (6.9.7-8).
sees to it that Callirhoe
the erotic as he leaves the excess bagArtaxerxes
seems to abandon

with Callirhoe

gage, including Callirhoe and his wife Statira, on Arados (7.4.11-13). The
but loses his
Great King then finally wins and regains his territories,
with Cal?
to reward Dionysios
wife to Chaireas. The king's willingness
when Statira re?
lirhoe (7.5.15) and his eager, almost frantic, behavior
turns (8.5.5), indicate that he has
of his wife, he
new appreciation
role.39 Indeed, while he still feels
glad that Chaireas has taken her
the
Chaireas demonstrates
Aphrodite
contrasts

receives

and

not abandoned
has the erotic

strongly about Callirhoe, Artaxerxes

off his hands (8.5.8).
most absolute devotion to the values

its ultimate

conventional

rewards,

history and
erotic alternative.
Critics decry Chaireas' lack
hysterical emotionalism,
attempts at suicide,
but these weaknesses
prove his utter devotion
between

the erotic; rather, in his

to his
appropriate

values

is
of

presenting
provocative
Chaireas and Callirhoe's

his
of public engagement,
and occasional
paralysis,40
to Love and to Callirhoe.
His excellence,
will show itself. Thus
given the proper erotic motivation,
when Chaireas finally joins the Egyptian rebellion in order to punish his
erotic rival (7.1.11), he rises rapidly in the ranks (7.2.5-6)
and soon
and bravery inherent in Greeks.
shows the greater resourcefulness
Chaireas'
successes,
how devotees
of romantic

famous
demonstrate
events,
by mimicking
love can prove equal or superior to the great
Chaireas
figures of conventional
history. Like Leonidas at Thermopylae,
has three hundred picked companions,
as he himself notes (7.3.9). Like
Alexander
(but with less effort), he captures Tyre (7.4.1-10). Like the
Athenians
several
(whose
victory at Salamis is mentioned
times),41

38As Dionysios himself seems to realize; see 2.1.1-2, 2.4.4-5.

39Konstan (1994, 1-59) points out how the Greek novels emphasize the equality of
age and experience of the central lovers. Thus, despite their obvious advantages as mates,
the greater age and experience of Dionysios and Artaxerxes prevent them from challenging Chaireas as a match for Callirhoe.
40See Egger 1990, 175-76; Bowie 1985, 689; Helms 1966, 28; G. Anderson 1984, 64.
41See, e.g., 1.11.2,6.7.10, 7.2.4, 7.5.8.

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624

JEAN ALVARES

Chaireas defeats the Persians at sea (7.6.1). Again like Alexander,

Chai?
reas captures the Persian queen and treats her humanely. While Chai?
recall the achievements
of famous Greek military lead?
reas' successes
letter reminds us that this war has been above all an
ers, Chaireas'
erotic contest with Artaxerxes
(8.4.2). And Chaireas has won, a triumph
his first night with Callirhoe in
symbolized
by the fact that he celebrates
the Great King's bed in his domicile on Arados (8.1.13-14).
Like Xenophon
in the Anabasis,
Chaireas must get his men home
after their king has been killed (8.2.1-3).
Chai?
But, unlike Xenophon,
his
officers
reas does not have to deal with constant dissension
among
to Arados
and men; quite the reverse. As Chaireas goes from Phoenicia
to Paphos, and then prepares to return to Syracuse, all wish to return
with him (8.3.11), and he takes with him twenty ships filled with Greeks
the Persians must keep a
a
microcosm
of such an empire
empire together by force,
itself
When
Chaireas returns
around Chaireas.
organizes
spontaneously
indicate the scale of his achieve?
to Syracuse, the spoils of his conquests
"the
ment. After listing some of these treasures,
Chariton concludes,
and a select
multinational

of non-Greeks.

portion

While

whole city was filled, not, as formerly, with the poverty of Attica from
the Sicilian war, but, a thing most novel, with spoils of the Medes in
riches are the results of an earlier Per?
peacetime!"
(8.6.12). Athenian
sian victory, yet even the fruits of Hermocrates'
victory over the Athe?
nians do not match
three

hundred

those

Greeks

of Chaireas'

become

citizens

new conquest.
of Syracuse,

is given to the Egyptians

though not citizenship)
has gained political power equal to Hermocrates'.
mocrates'
victories
had not ended hostilities
with

Further, Chaireas'
and farm land (al?
Chaireas
(8.8.13-14).
And

whereas

Her?

Chaireas

Athens,42
King a friend of the Syracusans
re?
through the return of Queen Statira (8.8.10). As their uneventful
turn over the open sea indicates,
and Callirhoe
Chaireas
remain at
peace with the gods.43 And it is clear that this new order, superior to the
famous achievements
of old, was the result of devotion to erotic values,
as demonstrated
the
deeds of the Syracusans
and, above all, of
by
can declare

that he has made

the Great

Chaireas.

42When Chaireas' fleet appears, the Syracusans immediately worry that they may
be hostile Athenians (8.6.2-3).
43Like Menelaus, Chaireas has regained his wife from an Asian prince, but without
incurring divine anger. See Laplace 1980, 119-20.

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CHARITON'S EROTIC HISTORY

625

of
benefits
are still to come from the productions
son. As she debates the fate of her unnotably Callirhoe's
born child, Callirhoe declares that she is sure that the child will sail one
in her letter to send their
day to Sicily (2.9.5). Later she begs Dionysios
the
victorious
and
Chaireas declares
child back to Hermocrates
(8.4.6),
"There is one being raised as a citizen for you, O men
to the Syracusans,
And

other

Love?most

man" (8.7.12).
one [raised] as wealthy, by a distinguished
of Syracuse,
While Naber's conjecture
that the child is to be thought of as the future
I of Syracuse is speculative,44
this child is obviously
pictured
Dionysios
as a future leader and bringer of blessings to Syracuse.
narrative within Chaireas and
We may summarize
the historical
defeat of Athens indicates
Syracuse's phenomenal
of its citizens, which make them a fitting people to pro?
and
duce a Callirhoe, who incarnates the power and favor of Aphrodite
of love and sentimental
draws Syracuse towards a greater appreciation
Callirhoe

as follows.

the excellence

values.
political
Sicilian

As a result, Chaireas and Callirhoe are married and a dangerous

attack of various
rivalry dissolved. There follows the successful

and thus upon the

and Italian potentates
upon the marriage,
turn Chaireas' mistaken jealousy
state, but the workings of Aphrodite
and its unhappy aftermath
into a felix culpa. Callirhoe
infatuates
the
leading men of Asia and demonstrates
Aphrodite's
power over the polities of Ionia and the Persian Empire. The excellent
Chaireas, inspired
and finally
by his love for Callirhoe, trained by Aphrodite's
punishment,
moved by the desire for vengeance
his
erotic
becomes
a
rivals,
against
leader
more
successful
than
He
Hermocrates.
military
captures Tyre,
defeats
numerous

the Persian
followers

navy, and returns to Syracuse with vast spoils and

as the future ruler of a new Syracuse.
Further,
actions, there is the promise that one day still an?

through Callirhoe's
other outstanding
leader, Callirhoe's
child, will come from Asia.
Thus Chariton
offers material
that both recalls
conventional
Greek historiography
and yet has been transformed
to make the reader
aware that this material belongs
to the history of a different sort of
world, one that revolves around
tion of romantic values, all fully
Chaireas and Callirhoe contains
ferent world, one that describes

and Eros and the apprecia?

Aphrodite
into the historical process.
integrated
a partial historical narrative of this dif?
the rise of Syracuse to new heights of

44See Naber 1901, 98. In contrast, Laplace (1980, 121) sees an allusion to Aeneas
and a return to his ancestral home.

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626

JEAN ALVARES

to Aphrodite,
and through its
unity and success through its devotion
im?
new leaders, Chaireas and Callirhoe.
The pleasures
of Chariton's
history are those which critics as diverse as Frye and
plicit alternative
Jameson45 have seen as a property of romance: an escape from history
as ongoing tragedy into a more utopian world, which has not only its
own protective

gods, but its own history.

Montclair
State University
e-mail: Alvaresj@saturn.montclair.edu

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