Ancient Greek Novels: The Fragments

558 Pages·1995·16.13 MB·English

by  Susan A. Stephens

ANCIENT GREEK NOVELS
THE FRAGMENTS

Ancient Greek Novels
The Fragments
INTRODUCTION,
TEXT, TRANSLATION, AND
COMMENTARY
EDITED BY
Susan A. Stephens and
John J. Winkler
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright © 1995 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, NewJersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Chichester, West Sussex
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Pubhcation Data
Ancient Greek novels : the fragments : introduction, text,
translation, and commentary / edited by Susan A. Stephens and
John J. Winkler.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-691-06941-7 (acid-free paper)
1. Greek fiction—Translations into English. 2. Lost literature—
Greece—Translations into English. 3. Lost literature—Greece—
History and criticism. 4. Greek fiction—History and criticism.
5. Lost literature—Greece. 6. Greek fiction.
I. Stephens, Susan Α. II. Winkler, John J.
PA3632.A53 1994
883'.0108—dc20 92-23526
This book has been composed in Adobe Sabon
Princeton University Press books are printed on
acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines
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For Cathy and Mark

CONTENTS
PREFACE IX
LIST OF PAPYRI XIIl
ABBREVIATIONS XV
General Introduction 3
Part I: Novel Fragments
Ninos 23
Mettochos and Parthenope 72
Metiochos and Parthenope ? 95
Antonius Diogenes: The Incredible Things beyond Thule 101
Testimonia 120
Book Fragments 130
Papyri 148
Antonius Diogenes? 158
The Love Drug 173
Iamblichos: Babyloniaka 179
Testimonia 190
Fragments Assignable to Sections of Photios's Epitome 200
Large Fragments 222
Unplaced Fragments 242
Doubtful Fragments 243
Sesonchosis 246
Kalligone 267
Antheia and a Cast of Thousands 277
Chione 289
Chione? 303
Lollianos: Phoimkika 314
vn
CONTENTS
Iolaos 358
Daulis 375
PART II: AMBIGUOUS FRAGMENTS
Apollonios 391
Tinouphis 400
The Apparition 409
Goatherd and the Palace Guards 416
Nightmare or Necromancy? 422
Staphulos 429
Theano 438
The Festival 444
Inundation 451
Initiation 461
APPENDIXES
A. Also Known as Romance 469
B. Testimonia 473
C. ChartofProvenancesandDates 479
BIBLIOGRAPHY 483
INDEX OF PASSAGES CITED 505
INDEX OF PROPER NAMES FROM THE FRAGMENTS AND
TESTIMONIA 520
GENERAL INDEX 525
PREFACE
Within the last decade, the discovery of new fragments, like Lollianos,
Iolaos, and Metiochos and Parthenope, has dramatically increased our
library catalogue of ancient novels, altering our sense of its contents and
proportions, and calling for a fresh survey of the field. The last edition of
novel fragments, that of Franz Zimmermann in 1936, is now hopelessly
out of date. This alone was sufficient reason to undertake such a project.
We also shared an interest in the postclassical world, and further, we
possessed skills that complemented each other.
Deciding on the project was the easy part. Choosing what to print
was more complex. We settled on all the fragments of the identifiable
novels, including the fragments and epitomes of Iamblichos and An-
tonius Diogenes. After examining all adespota among the literary papyri
published as "romance," "history," "oratory," "mimes," "mythography
and religion," and "unidentified prose," we added a number of pieces
that seem to have novellike narratives, but are too small to label with
authority. There are two exceptions: we have omitted Diktys of Krete
and all material associated with Alexander and the Alexander Romance,
the latter because of the vastness of the material, the former because its
Latin version raises unique problems, more suitably dealt with in a sep­
arate publication. We do not print all fragments identified as "romance"
by their original editors, only those with sufficient text for us to be
confident that they are more likely to belong to prose fiction than to any
other genre. For a full list of fragments originally published as "romance,"
see Appendix A.
This book is intended to combine two normally exclusive modes of
scholarship: the edition of texts, and literary interpretation. We wished
to make this material available for the nonspecialist and the non-Greek
reader, as well as to provide adequate and easily accessible texts. Intro­
ductions situate each text within the field of ancient fiction and present
relevant background material, possible lines of interpretation, and
literary parallels. Reconstructions of texts are deliberately conservative,
to correct the habit of exuberant supplementation that colors much pre­
vious work. The texts themselves are printed in standard Greek; errors,
spelling aberrations, and editorial marking of the original manuscripts