Among the five surviving ancient Greek romantic novels, all relating the vicissitudes of a betrothed or married couple, Xenophon's may be the earliest (first or second century CE), or earliest but one (depending on the dating of Chariton's Chaereas and Callirrhoe). Nothing is known of the author, or the circumstances of composition. The work, which has come down to us in five books, is entitled Ephesiaka or “The Ephesian Tale”. It is mentioned only in a Byzantine encyclopedia called Suda, which, however, states that it was in ten books. This has led some scholars to suppose that the work we have is an abridgement, but arguments for major lacunae in the text are not convincing.
The work survives in …
872 words
Citation: Konstan, David. "Ephesiaka". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 February 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=24667, accessed 24 November 2024.]
