| The purpose of my dissertation is to evaluate myth and mythological allusion in Chariton's Chaereas and Callirhoe, Xenophon of Ephesus' Ephesiaca, Achilles Tatius' Leucippe and Clitophon, Longus' Daphnis and Chloe, and Heliodorus' Aethiopica. The thesis adopted is that the utilization of myth in the novels increased as the genre of the novel evolved, and accordingly, part of the evaluation comprises a definition of the audience of these Greek novels.;My study will focus on the transition from historical to romantic setting, upon the increasing role of myth in enabling the change, but especially upon the nature of the various functions of myth introduced into the novel in later antiquity. I expect to establish that myth served as an integral part of the novel as form (rather than as the basis of religious indoctrination) and that it relied on a fund of stories shared by author and audience. I shall also suggest that the literary inspiration for some of the uses of myth lies in earlier poetic forms, such as pastoral. The results will provide a clearer understanding of a somewhat neglected portion of ancient literature and also upon the mentalite of the authors and the audience for whom they were written.;The use of myth in the ancient Greek novel has rarely been examined. When myth has been the subject of analysis in the ancient Greek novel, it has been done incompletely or superficially or has dealt with the origins of the novel. Some scholars have argued that the roots of the ancient novel are found in religious texts associated with the worship of such deities as Isis. The texts, which were used for purposes of instructing and edifying initiates and worshippers, contained myths which pertained to cult and ritual. Scholars have aligned on one side or the other of this controversy, agreeing or disagreeing about its religious roots. Some have simply avoided the issue. That avoidance will not do: to know more about the genre (and really ancient and modern literature, particularly the roots of the novel), the question of myth must be addressed and answered if at all possible. |
