Las aventuras de Quéreas y Calírroe by Chariton

Las aventuras de Quéreas y Calírroe Reviews

• 
  Evan Leach

  Which book is the world’s earliest novel? That question will probably never be definitively answered, but Callirhoe may have the best claim of any text out there. Callirhoe is one of seven novels surviving more or less intact from western antiquity: two Roman ones (The Golden Ass and the Satyricon) and five in Greek*. There are other texts hovering around the margins that could be added to this list, most of them very fragmentary, but the seven listed here are the big ones. The brilliant Satyricon is quite probably the oldest, dating from 65 AD or so, but that peculiar combination of prose, poetry, and mayhem won’t strike many modern readers as a true "novel".
  
  Callirhoe, on the other hand, is a novel as we understand the form today: it’s a fiction story in prose with a clear beginning, middle and end. The dates of all the early novels are very fuzzy, but Callirhoe was probably composed around the beginning of the second century AD, which could well make it the oldest of the seven (Satyricon excepted). Not only is it possibly the world’s oldest novel, but it might be the oldest example of historical fiction. The story is set around 400 BC and features real historical figures from that era, including Hermocrates of Syracuse and Artaxerxes II of Persia. The book is a romance between two young Greek lovers who are separated shortly after marriage, and describes their wild adventures as they fight to reunite with each other.
  
  
  ”Callirhoe” by Raymond Auguste Quinsac Monvoisin (1823)
  
  The plot is entertaining and filled with action. In a relatively short amount of space, Callirhoe crams in kidnapping, slave trading, a character being buried alive, an attempted crucifixion, a trial, and battles on land and sea. In addition to the leading lights of Sicily, the kings of Persia and Egypt wander onto the stage. Narrative setpieces include Sicily, Turkey, Syria, Babylon, and more. The quick pace and the sheer insanity of all that befalls the two lovers makes Callirhoe a fun read, and unlike some writers of his era the author of Callirhoe manages to tie things off with a satisfying and fulfilling ending.
  
  That said, this is not the pinnacle of ancient literature. The prose, at least in my translation, was nothing to write home about. More disconcerting for modern readers is the one-dimensional nature of virtually every character in the novel. Character development was simply not part of the formula for most ancient fiction writers, and this aspect of the book will seem very old fashioned to most modern eyes, especially when combined with the ancient author’s love of rhetoric and rhetorical flourishes. Personally, I really missed the humor that made the Satyricon such a favorite of mine; this romance is all melodrama without a laugh in sight.
  
  Still, Callirhoe is a fun story and a quick read. I would recommend this book to readers interested in Greco-Roman literature, or readers interested in learning more about the development of the novel. Interest in the five Greek novels has picked up in recent years, with a number of fresh new translations hitting the market (I recommend the
  Penguin version for interested readers), and it’s nice to see these overlooked classics getting the attention they deserve. 3 stars.
  
  *Callirhoe, Leucippe and Clitophon, Ephesian Tales, Daphnis and Chloe, and Ethiopian Tales.
• 
  ivana

  when no one wanted to give us ancient greek kardashian-like drama, chariton stepped up.
• 
  Zadignose

  Old? Yes. A novel? Yes. Good? ... Yes!
  
  This book is, to some extent, a prototype of soap operas, lurid romances, and damsel-in-distress stories. It engages in some hyperbolic absurdities and plot contrivances. Characters often launch into laments in order to summarize the plot development and drive home how incredibly unfortunate they've been. Callirhoe, the heroine, is more admirable than any of the men, including Chaereas, who are enchanted by her. Notably, it's the men who do most of the weeping and fainting. But the novel is also remarkably sophisticated... and strange in its way. It shows insight into the darker instincts and motivations of people, and the ways in which they manipulate one another.
  
  "...we were driven out into these waters by violent winds. Then we were becalmed for a long time, and everyone died of thirst except me--I survived because of my piety."
  
  The capture of the pirate Theron is one indicator of this novel's sophistication (and, to a degree, cynicism). Theron has been preserved by his cunning and impiety, while the gods are planning for him to survive only to suffer more for his wickedness... yet this same philosophy that the novelist puts forward--that all happens according to the gods' will--provides the very argument by which he almost escapes punishment: his survival at sea must be proof of his piety and innocence.
  
  A central theme of the book is beauty and the dangers it attracts. Callirhoe is one of those dazzling beauties who can cause entire cities to swoon. Extraordinary beauty is, of course, a great virtue. Especially for a woman. But, though we moderns may find it hard to believe, beauty isn't everything. It even has its downside. Envy, lust, and covetousness are inspired everywhere.
  
  This book also explores the relationship between private individuals and the crowd. The public is an interesting force. It is emotional, it is unpredictable, it is prone to manipulation, and it is swayed by rumor, but it also is generally inclined to the good. Its greatest significance is its power to restrain the wickedness of individuals. Because every powerful man would act without moral restraint if not for fear of lost honor and reputation. Perhaps not *every* man, but the genuinely virtuous are rare. I think we cannot even count our male protagonist Chaereas as virtuous. After all, though he was a victim of plots, and he was brave in his kind, he suffered for his own outrageous jealousy after he kicked his wife in the chest so viciously she was presumed dead and was buried. But his sidekick Polycharmus acts only out of loyalty and devotion to virtue, and Callirhoe herself is governed only by virtuous considerations, though they contradict one another (e.g. the virtue of constancy to one's husband vs. the virtue of a mother preserving her child in a crisis).
  
  The book is peppered with quotations from Homer, given a new context. Meanwhile, there's a bit of ridiculous military adventure thrown in. There is the particular case of the assault on Tyre, which is at the same time incredible and surprising in its... can I call it realism?... well, I can hardly credit Chaereas with the wit to pull off this adventure, nor can I believe the Tyreans to be so easily swindled, yet the detail of the gates being impossible to shut because they are blocked by the fallen bodies killed in the panicked crush sounds like something that might actually happen (the translator states that the assault on Tyre was somehow imitative of an episode from the Alexander Romance, but I don't currently know which detail or details originate from that source).
  
  As one additional point, there is some unexpected sympathy expressed for a character who might, in a flatter novel, have been portrayed strictly as a villain. There is some maturity in the way the novel treats Callirhoe's ambiguous relationships.
  
  The novel serves as a prototype for many imitations in the second century. It also forecasts developments in the mainstream literature of the western world. While it has its clunkiness in some scenes, it also has its unique charm and shows a lot of inspiration.
• 
  BAM doesn’t answer to her real name

  I really hate myself for liking this Greek tragedy because it revolves around a bout of spousal abuse.
• 
  Phillip Dupesovski

  first century ad wattpad fan-fic of homer's iliad and odyssey and i can't get enough !!
• 
  Aileen

  I wonder if Chariton was the Sidney Sheldon of his day. This book had it all and was a great romp through the 1st century Mediterranean and Asia with a large cast of characters, exotic locations, plots, double-crossings, life, love, death, you name it. Buried alive after an accidental blow from Chaereas, our Sicilian heroine Callirhoe is found by pirate tomb-robbers and carried off to Ionia where she is sold into slavery. Dionysus falls in love with her and tries everything to woo her, but she only agrees when she finds out she's pregnant by Chaereas and thinks this is the way to save her child. Everyone who sees her falls in love with her and she's pursued by all she meets. Chaereas hears from the pirates that she is still alive and heads off in pursuit to win her back. Their journey goes from Ionia to Babylon and back to a war in Egypt before the lovers are reunited and head home to Sicily. Great stuff, I loved it!
• 
  Yann

  Encore un excellent roman grec! Je suis bon public pour ce genre de fiction. Tous les éléments qu'on attend s'y trouvent: un couple incroyablement beau, une passion sans limites, du thumos et de l'épithumia, les péripéties et des contretemps fâcheux, des torrents de larmes, des voyages en Asie, en Europe et en Afrique, des pirates cruels et cupides, des dieux jaloux qui jouent avec nos héros mais se laissent fléchir par leurs malheurs, des réductions en esclavages, des félons sans scrupules, des personnages bouffons et de beaux gestes magnanimes, des guerres entre rois et capitaines valeureux, des prises de ville, des rançons, des rebondissements, et tout cela placé dans un contexte historique grandiose: il s'agit ici de la Sicile au lendemain de l'énorme défaite infligée à l'impérialisme Athénien. Au final, ça se lit - que dis-je, ça se dévore! -très facilement, et avec beaucoup de plaisir!
• 
  Illiterate

  The original page turner.
• 
  Emre Dahl

  Kjærlighetshistorie fra antikkens hellas.. hele greia starter når khaireas blir sjalu og sparta kicker kallirhoe i magen så hun besvimer og er knocka ut i tre dager så alle tror hun har dødd.. ting og tang skjer etter det. Veldig mye gjentakelse, og plot hvor ting bare skjer😩 uansett 3 fordi det virker for strengt å gi det en 2er
  
  Litt morsomt at alle i antikkens hellas truer med å ta selvmord hver gang de opplever noe negativt. Jeg drepte dama mi? Jeg skal ta selvmord. Liket hennes er borte? Selvmord. Hun er nå gift med en annen kis? Selvmord. Hun klemte meg ikke når vi ble gjenforent? Selvmord.. osv osv.
  
  direkte sitat fra boka «han fikk omsider lokket henne til seg med dyre gaver og ved å si at han ville henge seg hvis han ikke fikk det som han ville»
  
  Could be the move? «Jeg er ikke toxic, jeg har lest kallirhoe»
• 
  Dan-Bogdan Popescu

  dacă astea erau romanele din antichitate înțeleg de ce le a luat o mie și ceva de ani sa reabiliteze genul
• 
  Rebecca Russavage

  What a RIDE. And a pleasant read, not always true for ancient books.
• 
  Nathan

  The Greeks gave us philosophy, political science, literary theory, mathematics . . .
  
  and high camp.
• 
  Airam

  If you want to read a trashy page-turner AND look smart, this book is for you.
• 
  Lee Foust

  This is a charming Ancient Greek romance written during the Roman period, perhaps the progenitor of all romance and, through romance, all novels as well. It reads rather pedestrian these days, not because it wasn't original when it was written, but because almost all medieval and Renaissance romance as well as the last two and a half centuries of Occidental novels have pretty much followed its exciting, tribulation-riddled plot. No, Hollywood didn't invent the "Boy sees girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl" formula, nor even the happy, so-called Hollywood ending, it was a Greek named Chariton. Maybe there really is only one story: desire, desire thwarted, desire obtained (or not).
  
  I read the B. P. Reardon translation from his anthology Collected Ancient Greek Romances. It reads well and not too many footnotes.
• 
  Nora

  3.5
  Doesn’t ancient greek novel sound intimidating? So I thought, and what I got was a super fast-paced story full of strong emotions and drama queens. It basically felt like watching a condensed soap opera, with some extra additions of kidnapping, crucifixions, slave trade and war. It’s obvious that Chariton was a big fan of Homer’s works, and it was fun to see all the references to esp. the Iliad throughout the text.
• 
  Raisu

  Not everything was better in the Olden Days. Like dentistry. Or novels. Chariton's Callirhoe: Love Story in Syracuse is one of the oldest novels that has survived almost extant. On one hand, it's quite exciting. There are pirates, love triangles, wars and courtroom scenes aplenty. On the other hand it's deeply silly. Practically every male who crosses paths with the titular character falls desperately in love with her. Everyone runs frantically hither and tither around the Mediterranean and Middle East. The wailing, chest thumping and hair pulling at the slightest provocation never end.
  
  The main characters are very idealized and perfect. All this must have spelled very "high" literature to ancient Greek readers, but to a modern reader (well, this modern reader at least) it's almost farcical. It's all just so... silly. Still, three stars for an undeniably interesting and entertaining read that's not lacking in great scenes and lively descriptions.
• 
  John Cairns

  I like my history straight but made an exception for the first historical fiction, most enjoyable, with lots of literary references to flatter its readership, by no means populist - that would be left to demotic Xianity which appealed to hoi polloi and may still do. That, of course, is a virtue. As usual it's the incidental references I like, like Nero may have taken the idea of kicking Poppaea from this book, Miletus had four harbours and supplied soft woollen garments, Apelles' Aphrodite was the most famous painting etc. I love all that but the story itself is good, with its own rationale that'd go down well about the caprice of lady luck and lady love if she's not sufficiently appeased. The funniest things are Callirhoe's whining against outrageous fortune down to great beauty like what she has got with a litany of woes that ends with and that was the worst until the next time when that was the worst.
• 
  Shalana

  It was very Romeo & Juliet meets The Odyssey. I liked it.
• 
  Lena

  what a spicy little angsty fic. would tag it like Callirhoe/Chaereas, Callirgoe/Dionisius, Callirhoe&Artaxerxes, Alexander the great side characters,angst, hurt to comfort, suicidal thoughts, fix-it
• 
  Matthew

  Possibly the first romance story written? The world may never know! I actually was rooting for the two main characters to stay together despite their obvious and many flaws (mainly the guy's). While this felt like a colossal set of misunderstandings, miscommunication, and manipulation tropes, this really started all of those tropes, didn't it? And even despite that, I found myself invested in the story and loved the integration of Greek mythology. While nothing truly exceptional like The Odyssey, this was a pleasant surprise.
• 
  moi, k.y.a.

  
  1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die kitabını maratona başlamıştım malum, bu kitabı okuyordum (%20) hem de zevkle ama araya bir şeyler girdi ve bir türlü devam edemedim. aynı zamanda maratonumla ilgili kafamda ufak bir şey var, o yüzden de bunu askıya alma ihtiyacı hissettim. çok çabuk döneceğim okumaya
• 
  Wolf Vanlaer

  Insane dat dit nog niet door iemand in de oudheid verfilmd is!
• 
  Jonathan

  Konstante selvmordsforsøk samtidig som forfatteren hele tiden forsikrer oss om at det skal gå bra til slutt. Også artig at de siste to kapitlene nesten bare recapper.
• 
  Elise Pype

  Heftig verhaal, ma nice da ze uit de dood is opgestaan, ik raad het aan
• 
  Birgitta Suorsa

  Antiikinaikaista saippuaoopperaa. Draamaa riittää. Silti harvoja suhteellisen ehyenä säilyneitä kertomuksia. Suomennos on erinomainen, Maarit Kaimion kädenjälkeä.
• 
  Ella

  Ikke dårlig til å være verdens første kjærlighetsroman
• 
  Emmanuel Wallart

  Pauvre Callirhoé, victime d'Aphrodite et de son fils, Eros; fille du Syracusain vainqueur des Athéniens, Hermocrate, elle épouse l'homme dont elle est tombée follement amoureuse après un seul regard. Malheureusement pour elle, son mari, Chéréas est jaloux et violent. Après une crise il la frappe si violemment qu'il la laisse pour morte. Ses funérailles sont grandioses, on l'enterre en grande pompe. Chéréas s'accuse et veut mourir. Des pirates de passage décident de piller le tombeau la nuit venue. Mais Callirhoé est-elle vraiment morte, Aphrodite la laissera-t-elle enfin tranquille, ou devra-t-elle encore payée pour son extraordinaire beauté.
  Chariton auteur grec du premier siècle avant JC (?), nous offre ici un magnifique roman d'amour ou se mêlent événements historiques et personnages de fiction. Nous voyageons de Syracuse à Babylone en passant par Milet, Tyr et Chypre. L'action ne s’essouffle jamais, on est pris par cette histoire qui passe de drame en drame jusqu'au dénouement final. A lire absolument.
• 
  Martin

  3 down, 998 to go. I actually found this one interesting, and readable. More than the telling of the story, it's circumstance was also an experience for me. This is, allegedly, the first novel ever written, and it's quite a ride to see where and how it all began, and to hold in my hands the first scrabblings and attempts to communicate in this forum. It's quite a thing to see how dialogue was formerly written. The translation is a beholding unto itself as well. I read the version where "f"s still took the place of "s"es, and struggled a bit to read that, but no matter. As for the story, it was intriguing, and had good tension, and fun fawning, and a translator that did not mind jumping in and finding fault with some narrative inconsistencies. I certainly feel enriched by the reading, and that's a very good thing.