IV _THE_ AETHIOPICA _OF HELIODORUS_
The life of Heliodorus is as obscure as that of each of the otherwriters of Greek romance, but in the tradition of his there is a specialpoint of controversy. Was Heliodorus a pagan novelist or a Christianbishop? Or by some strange metamorphosis did the writer of the romantic_Aethiopica_ become in later and staider years the Bishop of Tricca? Theonly certain facts are found in the autobiographical sentence whichconcludes the romance, that he was a Phoenician of Emesa, of a familydescended from Helios, the son of Theodosius.
It was Socrates who, in the fifth century A.D., stated that the customof celibacy for the clergy was introduced in Thessaly by Heliodorus whenhe became bishop of Tricca. He added that Heliodorus wrote in his youtha love-story, which he called _Aethiopica_.[104] Photius in the ninthcentury says that he received the bishopric later, that is after writingthe romance. Nicephorus Callistus in the fourteenth century afterquoting the remark of Socrates adds that the _Aethiopica_ created such ascandal Heliodorus had to choose between his bishopric and thedestruction of his romance so he abandoned his charge, but this isprobably mere embellishment of the story. As Rattenbury points out,[105]neither Socrates, Photius nor Nicephorus declares that Heliodorus was aChristian when he wrote his romance, but they imply clearly that hebecame a bishop afterwards. And if the author of the romance was adevout pagan as he seems to have been, that state of mind could havemade possible his conversion to Christianity. This seems a reasonableexplanation of the strong tradition continuing from the fifth centurythat Heliodorus became bishop of Tricca.
As to his date, there are some certainties but no exactitude. The Bishopof Tricca must have lived before Socrates wrote his _HistoriaEcclesiastica_ which covered the period 306-439. There is no externalevidence on the time of the writer of the romance, but from the generalconclusions about the dating of the Greek Romances, he probably wrotenot later than the end of the third century. His native city Emesa wasthe birthplace of two Roman Emperors, Heliogabalus (218-222) andAlexander Severus (222-235). About the middle of the century Emesa wasconquered by Zenobia of Palmyra, but was freed by Aurelian in 272.Heliodorus may have written in its most flourishing period, 220-240. Itis generally agreed that Heliodorus is later than Chariton who could nothave written after 150 and earlier than Achilles Tatius who wrote aboutthe beginning of the fourth century.
Rattenbury thinks that a possible reconstruction of Heliodorus' life isthis. He was born in Emesa in Phoenician Syria. His family was connectedwith the cult of the Sun. In his youth, perhaps between 220 and 240, hewrote a romance in which the influence of the cult of Helios appears,also the neo-Pythagoreanism of Apollonius of Tyana. It is not impossiblethat finally he was converted to Christianity, became bishop of Triccaand in that office introduced in his diocese celibacy for theclergy.[106] Calderini has shown with discrimination and perspicacitythat the special characteristic of the _Aethiopica_ is the interest inphilosophy which distinguishes it and its author from Chariton, thewriter of historical romance, and from Achilles Tatius, the writer ofromance tinged with science.[107] A study of the _Aethiopica_ itselfwill show how deeply infused the novel is with this religiousphilosophical coloring.
Before outlining the narrative, I will give as usual a list of theprincipal characters. These are:
_Theagenes_, the young Greek hero _Chariclea_, the young heroine, supposed to be a Greek _Hydaspes_, king of Ethiopia _Persinna_, queen of Ethiopia _Calasiris_, of Memphis, priest of Isis and his sons: _Thyamis_, in exile, a pirate captain _Petosiris_, priest of Isis _Charicles_, priest of Apollo at Delphi _Alcamenes_, nephew of Charicles _Trachinus_, a pirate _Pelorus_, a pirate and officer of Trachinus _Cnemon_, a young Athenian, son of _Aristippus_, an Athenian, a stupid husband _Demaeneta_, the amorous step-mother of Cnemon _Thisbe_, the scheming maid of Demaeneta _Arsinoe_, a slave-girl, a friend of Thisbe _Nausicles_, a merchant _Thermuthis_, an officer under Thyamis _Oroondates_, viceroy of the Great King of the Persians _Mithranes_, viceroy of Oroondates _Arsace_, wife of Oroondates _Cybele_, the maid of Arsace _Achaemenes_, son of Cybele _Euphrates_, the chief eunuch of Oroondates _Sisimithres_, an Ethiopian Gymnosophist _Meroebus_, nephew of Hydaspes
The opening scene of the romance is startling and mysterious. In Egypt,from a mountain near the mouth of the Nile a band of pirates get a viewof the seashore. They behold a heavily laden ship without a crew, aplain strewn with dead bodies and the remains of an ill-fated banquet. Awounded youth is lying on the ground. He is being cared for by abeautiful young woman dressed in a religious garb which makes her seem apriestess or a goddess, Diana or Isis. Indeed a divine effulgenceemanates from her. The pirates though at first overawed descend andcollect rich booty. Their captain then courteously conveys the maidenand the youth to their pirate home. This was called "The Pasture" andwas a sort of island in a delta of the Nile. Some of the pirates livedin huts made of reeds, some in boats. The water was their fortification.Their streets were winding water-ways cut through the reeds.
The pirate chief assigned the care of his two captives to a young Greek,Cnemon, who was his interpreter. The prisoners were overjoyed on findingtheir custodian a Greek. He promised to heal the wounds of Theagenes,who had now revealed his own name and that of Chariclea, and on theirurgent request, he told him his own story.
"I," he said, "am the son of Aristippus, an Athenian. After my brother'sdeath, my father married again a woman named Demaeneta, who was amischief-maker. Like Phaedra she fell in love with me, her step-son,indeed called me her dear Hippolytus. When I repelled her advances sheaccused me to my father of attempted rape. He had me scourged. Worsethan that, Thisbe, the maid of Demaeneta, on her mistress' ordersinvolved me in an amorous intrigue with herself and later promised toshow me my step-mother with an adulterer. Sword in hand I followed herto the bed-room and just as I was about to murder her paramour, I foundhe was my father. Aristippus charged me in court with attemptedparricide. Only a divided vote spared my life and sent me into exile.Lately I received news that my father through Thisbe had found out hiswife's corruption; she had killed herself; and now Aristippus is tryingto obtain from the people his son's pardon."
The next day Thyamis the pirate leader although he was warned in a dreamthat having Chariclea, he would not have her, announced to his band hisintention of marrying her. She pretended to consent, but asked thattheir marriage be postponed until they reached Memphis so that there shecould resign her priesthood of Diana. Thyamis accepted this condition.Theagenes was horrified until Chariclea explained that this agreementwas made only to secure more time for their plans for safety. A hostileband of brigands was now seen approaching. Thyamis had Cnemon hideChariclea in a secret cave. When the terrible battle began to go againsthim, Thyamis rushed back to the cave and killed a woman in the dark whomhe believed Chariclea. In battle he was then taken alive. The victoriousbrigands fired the huts on the island but did not find the cave. Cnemonand Theagenes, who had escaped in little boats, returned to the island.When Cnemon conducted Theagenes to the cave by its secret entrance, theyfound in its dark gloom the body of a dead woman. Theagenes believing itChariclea burst into lamentation and planned suicide. But Cnemon tookaway his sword, got a torch lighted and found that the woman was Thisbeand in her dead hand was a letter. They soon found Chariclea alive.
After the first joy of reunion Chariclea wished to know who the deadwoman was. Cnemon revealed that she was Thisbe and related all herstory: how after her plot against him, Arsinoe, a rival courtesan whoselover Nausicles she had stolen, revealed Thisbe's machinations againstDemaeneta; how Cnemon's father was exiled on the ground of complicityand Thisbe fled. The letter in Thisbe's hand proved to be to Cnemon, apetition to save her from the pirates who had stolen her. Just thenThermuthis, her pirate captor, arrived to reclaim her, only to find herdead. The sword in her wound proved to him that she was slain byThyamis.
Theagenes and Chariclea, Cnemon and Thermuthis now started out i
nseparate pairs towards Chemmis, a rich city on the Nile, to get food.The menace of Thermuthis was conveniently removed as he died from thebite of an asp. Near Chemmis Cnemon met an old man who entertained himat his home. He proved to be Calasiris, the foster-father of Theagenesand Chariclea. This he revealed to Cnemon in a long narrative of his ownlife: how though a priest of Isis he had gone into voluntary exile tobreak off the wiles of a courtesan; how he had sojourned at Delphi,attending the ceremonies and talking with the philosophers. One,Charicles, related how in his own travels in Egypt he had had intrustedto him by an Ethiopian merchant a beautiful child. The merchant hadfound her exposed with a bag of jewels and an inscribed fillet. Thesetoo he gave to Charicles making him promise to guard her freedom and wedher to a free man. He had named her Chariclea and brought her up inGreece but now, though she was very beautiful, she refused to marry.
Calasiris also described to Cnemon the sacrifice to Neoptolemus offeredby the Aenianians and the Delphic oracle which he had heard there.
"Delphians, regard with reverential care, Both him the goddess-born, and her the fair; "_Grace_" is the sound which ushers in her name, The syllable wherewith it ends, is "_Fame_." They both my fane shall leave, and oceans past, In regions torrid shall arrive at last; There shall the gods reward their pious vows, And snowy chaplets bind their dusky brows."[108]
Calasiris at the urgent request of Cnemon described all the ceremoniesattendant on the sacrifice to Neoptolemus: the hecatomb and the othervictims, the Thracian maidens bearing offerings, the hymn to the Hero,the dance, the procession of the fifty armed horsemen led by Theagenes,the radiant appearance of Chariclea in a chariot. All this descriptionwas the brilliant setting for the meeting of Theagenes and Chariclea,for when Theagenes took from the priestess' hand the torch to light thesacrificial pyre, in them both the flame of first love was kindled.
The next day Chariclea lay abed very ill in her apartment in the temple.Calasiris feared it was due to "_fascinatio_." Calasiris after meetingTheagenes had a vision in which Apollo and Diana consigned Theagenes andChariclea to his care and bade him take them to Egypt. The next morningTheagenes confessed to Calasiris his love and besought his aid.Charicles begged him to heal his daughter. This enabled him to talk toher.
Chariclea recovered sufficiently the next day to attend the contest ofthe men in armor and to award the palm to the victor, Theagenes. But herpassion and her illness increased after this second meeting andCalasiris was again summoned to treat her. Her disease was diagnosed aslove and Calasiris persuaded her father to let him see the fillet foundwith the exposed baby. Calasiris was able to read the inscription on it.It was a letter from her mother, Persinna, queen of the Ethiopians,revealing that she had borne a white daughter because at her conceptionshe had been looking at a picture of Andromeda; then fearing the chargeof adultery she had exposed her baby with the fillet and the jewels. Allthis Calasiris told to Chariclea. Calasiris then made a plot with her bywhich she was to pretend to become affianced to Alcamenes, the nephew ofCharicles, as her foster-father wished. Charicles was delighted althoughhe was nervous because of a dream in which an eagle from the hand ofApollo bore his daughter away. He gave her all the jewels.
Then Calasiris persuaded some Phoenician merchants to take him and twofriends on their ship as far as Sicily; and he ordered Theagenes and hisyoung friends to kidnap Chariclea. She consented to the plan afterTheagenes had bound himself by an oath never to force her love. Afterthey were off, Charicles roused the city to pursuit of them. Calasirisafter telling of the arrival of the Phoenician ship at Zacynthosinterrupted his narrative to rest. Nausicles returned to the house andunknown to the others had brought Chariclea with him.
(Here the author himself gave a resume of the adventures of Theagenesand Chariclea from the time they parted with Cnemon. In the cave thelovers had a long talk and made an agreement as to what they would do incase fortune again separated them: they would inscribe on temple,statue, herm or boundary stone, Theagenes the name Pythicus, CharicleaPythias; the direction in which each departed; to what place or people;also the time of writing. For recognition if they met disguised theydecided to use as signs Chariclea's ring and Theagenes' scar from aboar. Their watchwords were to be a lamp for her, a palm-tree for him.They sealed this covenant in kisses, then left the cave takingChariclea's sacred robes, her bow and quiver and her jewels.
Soon they met an armed band and were taken prisoners. The commander wasMithranes, an officer of Oroondates, viceroy of Egypt. Nausicles hadpersuaded him for pay to make this expedition to the island in search ofhis Thisbe. Nausicles on seeing Theagenes and Chariclea cleverlypretended that Chariclea was Thisbe, the object of his quest. Mithranesdemanded Theagenes as his prize and despatched him to Oroondates as afine youth for service with the Great King.)
The next day Calasiris and Cnemon heard all Nausicles' story fromhimself, saw Chariclea and made a plan to ransom Theagenes. AfterNausicles had celebrated a sacrifice in the temple of Hermes, the god ofgain, Calasiris on request continued his narrative of the voyage fromDelphi. At Zacynthos a deaf old fisherman Tyrrhenus gave them lodging.The Tyrian merchant who won the victory at the Pythian games now suedfor Chariclea's hand. Tyrrhenus discovered an ambush of pirates waitingfor the Phoenician ship to sail. Calasiris without revealing thispersuaded the Tyrian captain to sail that night. The pirate crew underTrachinus pursued them and engaged them in a terrible battle so finallythe Phoenicians had to surrender. Trachinus demanded marriage withChariclea and she deceitfully promised her hand if he would spareCalasiris and "her brother" Theagenes. With difficulty the piratesmaneuvered the boat to land near the mouth of the Nile. Trachinus toldCalasiris that he proposed to marry Chariclea that day. Calasiris,ingenious as ever, persuaded him to let Chariclea go on the ship toattire herself for the wedding and be left undisturbed there. Calasiristhen plotted with Pelorus, second in command of the pirates, telling himChariclea loved him. Pelorus since he had been the first to board thePhoenician ship demanded, as his right of first choice of the booty, thegirl. A terrible battle ensued in which Trachinus was killed, Peloruswounded by Theagenes and put to flight and Theagenes badly wounded. Inthe morning Egyptian pirates arrived and carried them both off.Calasiris had spent his days mourning for them until this presentrecovery of Chariclea.
The next day Calasiris, Cnemon and Nausicles set out to find Theagenes.An acquaintance informed Nausicles that Mithranes had sent his troops onan expedition against the men of Bessa, commanded by Thyamis, becausethey had stolen a captive Greek youth. So Nausicles and his friendsreturned to Chemmis and told all to Chariclea. Nausicles gave a farewelldinner-party since the season favorable for navigation compelled him tosail for Greece. Cnemon after a struggle with himself decided to go withhim and was permitted to marry his daughter, Nausiclea.
Calasiris and Chariclea disguised as beggars started for Bessa to seekTheagenes. Near Bessa they found many corpses lying on the ground. Anold woman told them there had been a battle between Mithranes' forcesand the men of Bessa in which the men of Bessa had been victorious andMithranes had been killed. The victors had now set out to Memphisagainst Oroondates. The old woman had lost her son in battle. That nightCalasiris and Chariclea secretly watched her magic rites by which sheraised him to give her news of her other son. The shade also revealedthat there were two witnesses to her wicked necromancy; that Charicleashould be happily reunited with Theagenes and that his own mother wouldmeet her death by the sword. This soon happened, for she fell on anupright sword on the battle-field.
Calasiris and Chariclea arrived at Memphis just as Thyamis and hisbrigands began a siege of it. The people of Memphis in the absence ofOroondates consulted the queen Arsace about the wisdom of going out toattack the enemy. Thyamis had been driven into exile by the slanders ofhis brother Petosiris who swore there was an amour between Thyamis andArsace. Petosiris had then succeeded his brother in the priesthood ofIsis. Arsace after looking at the enemy from the wall ordered a singlecombat between Thyamis and Petosiris to d
ecide the war. In this combatPetosiris was forced to flee. As he was running around the city wallsthe third time, Calasiris arrived and saw the combat between his twosons that an oracle had foretold. Rushing between them he ended thecontest.
Chariclea discovered Theagenes and suddenly threw her arms about him.Her hero disgusted at her beggar's rags threw her off and did notrecognize her until she whispered: "Pythias, have you forgotten thetorch?" Then he took her to his arms, while Arsace and the otherwatchers on the wall marvelled at the scene as though it were on thestage. So peace was made by the father and the lovers were reunited. Allwent to the temple of Isis. Calasiris restored his son Thyamis to thepriesthood.
Arsace had fallen madly in love with Theagenes on seeing him twice andconfided this to her aged maid, Cybele. This maid on going to the templeof Isis to offer prayers for her mistress learned that Calasiris haddied there during the night and that no one except the priests couldenter the temple for seven days on account of the funeral rites.Thereupon Cybele craftily secured permission to entertain the two youngGreeks who were staying there in Arsace's palace and took them home.When they found that they were in the palace, they became suspicious forthey had noticed the queen's interest in Theagenes the day before. So atChariclea's suggestion, Theagenes said they were brother and sister.Cybele went to Arsace's apartment to tell her all, locking the guests intheir room. In her absence, her son Achaemenes came home, listened attheir door and from their talk and from a glimpse at Theagenes realizedthat this was the very youth who had been taken from him by Thyamis.
As the days passed, Arsace tried to win the love of Theagenes firstthrough subtle allurement, then through open confession of her passionand at last through domination. Achaemenes finally told Arsace who theywere so the queen informed Theagenes that they were now her slaves asthey had been the captive slaves of Mithranes and he must obey her. Thenin the presence of Cybele Theagenes promised himself to Arsace oncondition that she would never give Chariclea to Achaemenes, who haddemanded her. He confessed that Chariclea was not his sister but hisfiancee. On hearing this Achaemenes rode away to inform Oroondates ofall.
Oroondates was engaged in a campaign against Hydaspes, King of theEthiopians, who had got possession of Philae. On hearing Achaemenes'report Oroondates despatched his eunuch Bagoas with fifty horsemen toMemphis to bring Theagenes and Chariclea to his camp. He sent twoletters to this effect to Arsace and to his chief eunuch. Achaemenes hekept with himself.
In Memphis Thyamis had been unable to procure the release of the youngGreeks from Arsace. Moreover the frustrated queen had begun to tryimprisonment and torture on Theagenes. When he was still obstinate,Cybele advised getting rid of Chariclea to free his heart and sheprepared to poison the girl. Fortunately a maid exchanged the goblets.Cybele herself drank the poison and expired, but with her last breathshe declared Chariclea had murdered her. So Arsace threw the girl intothe prison where Theagenes was and had her tried. In the court-roomChariclea pleaded guilty, for this was the plan that she and her loverhad agreed on in the prison, that they might die together. The SupremeCouncil ordered that she be burned alive. Chariclea was saved by amiracle, for the flames on the pyre refused to touch her person. Arsacethen consigned her again to prison on the ground that she was a witch.
In prison, Chariclea and Theagenes had a long talk about thedream-visions they had each seen. To each Calasiris had appeared andgiven a metrical prophecy. To Chariclea he had said:
"Bearing Pantarbe, fear not flames, fair maid, Fate, to whom naught is hard, shall bring thee aid."
And to Theagenes:
"From Arsace, the morrow sets thee free-- To Aethiopia with the virgin flee."[109]
Chariclea interpreted these oracles to mean that her jewel, thePantarbe, was protecting her; and that on the next day they would befreed from Arsace and go to Ethiopia.
Meanwhile Bagoas arrived at Memphis and Euphrates on receiving theletter of Oroondates sent Theagenes and Chariclea off secretly withBagoas. On their journey they received first the news that Arsace hadkilled herself and second that Oroondates had gone to Syene. Later onthe way they were seized by a band of Troglodite Ethiopians who tookBagoas and the two Greeks to their king, Hydaspes. He planned to savethem as victims to be sacrificed to the gods.
Hydaspes was besieging Syene. Oroondates had got inside the city beforethe blockade and was directing the defense. But Hydaspes used a newweapon against him, inundation. His army dug a great trench around Syenewith earth-works encircling it. This trench he connected with the riverNile by a long canal, fifty feet wide, banked by high walls. When theworks were finished, he cut away the embankment between his canal andthe Nile and let the river in. Syene became an island city and thepressure of the water on the walls threatened inundation. So Oroondatesand the people of Syene had to sue for peace. This was granted, andHydaspes built up again the embankment between his canal and the Nileand proceeded to drain off the water.
During the festival of the overflowing of the Nile Oroondates and hisarmy slipped away in the night, bridging the mud swamps about Syene byplanks, and went to Elephantine, which revolted with him againstHydaspes. In the new battle Hydaspes was again victorious and tookOroondates prisoner, but the Ethiopian was a generous conqueror and sentOroondates back to be again viceroy of his province.
Hydaspes on his way home stopped two days at Philae and from there senthome letters announcing his victory to Persinna and the Gymnosophists.Persinna recalled a dream that she had brought forth a full-growndaughter and interpreted the daughter as this victory. The peopleassembled for the celebration at the island city of Meroe and accordingto their traditions demanded human sacrifice of foreign captives of war.The prisoners now underwent the test of chastity by ascending the altarof fire and of course Theagenes and Chariclea passed the test.
The Gymnosophists through their leader Sisimithres refused to witnesshuman sacrifice and foretold that this one would never be consummated.Chariclea begged them to stay and hear her case. (She had recognizedSisimithres' name as that of the one who had given her to Charicles atCatadupa). Chariclea declared that she was a native, not a foreigner,and produced her fillet and her jewels, among them the mystic ring,Pantarbe. Sisimithres narrated his part in her story. Hydaspes waspuzzled over how he could have a _white_ child, but Sisimithresexplained that Persinna at the time of conception had fixed her eyes ona picture of the naked, white Andromeda. When the picture was brought inas evidence, Chariclea's resemblance to its Andromeda was foundstartling. Moreover a birthmark of a black ring around Chariclea's armattested her black blood.
The people now refused to have Chariclea sacrificed, but the fate ofTheagenes still hung in the balance. Chariclea begged that if he were tobe sacrificed, she might perform the deed. (Apparently she planned tocarry out a kind of suicide pact.) Hydaspes thought his daughter wasinsane and sent her into a tent with her mother while he receivedambassadors and their gifts of victory. His nephew Meroebus brought amighty athlete. Hydaspes as a joke gave him in return an elephant, butalso promised him the hand of Chariclea. The Axiomitae presented agiraffe, an animal so strange that it terrified some of the natives.Moreover, one bull and two horses broke their fetters and dashed madlyaround the inside of the circle of guards. Theagenes mounted anotherhorse, pursued the bull, wore it out and finally downed it. Theenchanted spectators now demanded that he be matched with the championMeroebus. Him too he vanquished. Oroondates crowned Theagenes as victor,but nevertheless prepared to sacrifice him.
At that moment ambassadors from Syene arrived with a letter fromOroondates. He begged that a young woman captive be sent to him with herfather who was one of the ambassadors. This was Charicles. He recognizedTheagenes and accused him of having stolen his daughter at Delphi.Theagenes revealed that Chariclea was the one demanded. Sisimithres toldthe rest of the story. Chariclea rushing out of the tent beggedCharicles to forgive her elopement. Persinna told Hydaspes that she hadlearned that Chariclea was betrothed to Theagenes.
Sisimithres speaking n
ot in Greek but in Ethiopian for all the people tohear ordered Hydaspes to submit to the will of the gods who had savedthe two young lovers and who did not approve of human sacrifice andexhorted him to end human sacrifices forever. So Hydaspes asked thepeople to observe the will of the gods and to sanction the marriage ofTheagenes and Chariclea. This they did. Then Hydaspes consecrated thetwo as priest and priestess of the Sun and the Moon and on their headshe placed the mitres which he and Persinna had worn as symbols of theiroffices. Thus was fulfilled the oracle:
"In regions torrid shall arrive at last; There shall the gods reward their pious vows, And snowy chaplets bind their dusky brows."
Then a great procession escorted them to Meroe there to fulfill the moremystic parts of wedlock.
In this brief re-telling of Heliodorus' long story, certain strikingfeatures of his structure appear. Geography and ethnography areimportant as in the other novelists. The eastern basin of theMediterranean is the center of the adventures, the district which forcenturies was the scene of the conflict for power between many nations.As in Xenophon, many geographical details are given, often with littleaccuracy.[110] As Maillon points out, imagination and fantasy falsifythe historical and geographical allusions. Heliodorus gathers everythingthat can satisfy the taste for the strange and the marvellous. At a timewhen the critical spirit was so little developed in the historians, awriter of romance would naturally produce marvellous narratives andvague descriptions. Heliodorus confuses the Ethiopia of Herodotus withthat of the Ptolemies and imagines an Ethiopian empire which did notexist during the domination of Egypt by the Persians.[111] As inChariton, the superiority of the Greeks over the barbarians is part ofthe author's faith.
In the development of the plot Heliodorus makes his set more unified,less cinematic than Xenophon had done. The scene of action lies almostentirely in Egypt with a shift to Ethiopia for the final climax. ThisEgyptian set is to be sure varied by different local scenes: the Nile,an island village in its delta, towns such as Chemmis, Memphis, Syeneand Philae, the battle-fields of Bessa and Elephantine, but nearly thewhole plot develops in Egypt. The exceptions are in the sub-plotpresented in Cnemon's narrative of his life-history which is laid inAthens, and in Calasiris' long account of his visit to Delphi. Thesehowever are clearly set off as insets in the unity of the Egyptianscene.
The plot itself is an original combination of epic and dramaticstructure. The other writers of Greek romance begin at the beginningwith a detailed account of the hero and heroine, their family, theirbackground. Heliodorus in true epic style plunges us _in medias res_with his startling opening scene of a seascape where a ship rides atanchor, treasure-laden but not manned, where the shore is littered withthe remains of a banquet, but strewn with corpses, where a young manlies wounded with a beautiful maiden dressed as a goddess ministering tohim. The reader is as amazed and puzzled at the sight as are the pirateswho are peering down from the hills.
Another epic part of the structure is that the narrative of events doesnot proceed in a straight line but zigzags back and forth while a newarrival contributes his part to the development of the plot, or theauthor himself gives a retrospective resume of past events to explainthe present. Calasiris' long narrative is the best illustration of thisresumptive method but Cnemon, Achaemenes, Sisimithres and Charicles allcontribute their share of resumes.[112] In general, Heliodorus usesresumes with great effect to clarify his complicated plot. Sometimes hemerely suggests a summary of events (V. 16, 5); sometimes he gives afull succinct recapitulation of events (II. 14, 1-2); sometimes hisheroes recount their adventures to complain of them (V. 11).[113]
Many episodes too are taken from Homer. The games in Delphi in honor ofApollo are indebted to those given by Achilles in honor of Patroclus.The {teichoskopia} where Arsace on the wall of Memphis watches thecombat in the plain recalls Helen on the walls of Troy. The duel therebetween Thyamis and Theagenes is like one of the Homeric single combats.In it Theagenes' pursuit of Thyamis around the walls owes something tothe pursuit of Hector by the swift-footed Achilles. The scar ofTheagenes which is to be a sign of recognition was surely suggested byOdysseus'. The scene where the old woman evokes her dead son on thefield of battle imitates the Homeric {Nekyia}.[114]
Even more prominent than his debt to epic poetry is Heliodorus' use ofdramatic structure. All the usual devices of Greek tragedy appear.Indeed the plot centers on the recognition of the young Greek heroine asthe white Ethiopian princess by the tokens exposed with her in babyhood:her jewels, her mystic ring, her lettered fillet. This dramatic deviceof an agnorisis or recognition is multiplied by Heliodorus for repeatedsituations: the recognition of Chariclea in beggar's rags by Theagenesthrough her watchword, the identification of Charicles as herfoster-father and of Sisimithres as the noble Greek who found and savedthe exposed child.
No less important is the usual Greek peripeteia, or reversal of fortune,for hero and heroine are repeatedly reunited only to be separated anew;together or separately they are rescued from one catastrophe only to beplunged into a worse danger. Calasiris' long narrative resembles notonly the minstrel's songs at the court of Alcinous of old far-off divineevents, but also the messenger's speeches in tragedy wherein events toohorrible or too complicated to be presented on the stage are told with arealism which starts the imagination. The mechanism of a parallelsubplot is employed in Cnemon's life-story. The letter in Thisbe's deadhand is indebted to Phaedra's in Euripides' _Hippolytus_. Cybele,Arsace's maid, owes much in her character of confidant to Phaedra'snurse though she is more cynical and familiar. The crowd takes the placeof the chorus, now demanding human sacrifice in the name of tradition,now releasing Chariclea from it through pity, now approving of theappeal of the noble Gymnosophists in the name of the gods to abolish theimmolation of human victims. The _deus ex machina_ is supplied by thesevery gods of the Gymnosophists, Helios, the Sun, and Selene, the Moon,celestial symbols of pure deities of space and time conceived in thephilosophical mind.
Against this structure of drama the characters move as though on a stageand even through the stylized formulae of dramatic conventions usuallyattain individuality and vitality. Maillon seems to me undiscriminatingwhen he speaks of them all as general types, not individuals, asmarionettes who can talk, lament and complain, but are withoutlife.[115] Even characters that fall into general groups may as in reallife have distinguishing traits and in the list of characters certainare unforgettable personalities.
The hero Theagenes is of course supremely handsome and physicallystrong. He is also as Wolff says spectacularly courageous but easilydiscouraged.[116] He has to be kept from suicide by Cnemon. He has to becheered by Chariclea. And his Lady Fair is the resourceful partner inemergencies who whispers to him "Call me your Sister" or invents meansof recognition in case of separation or makes a plot to share with himhis fate be it life or death. She demands too when they start off ontravels together that her lover swear a sacred oath to respect hervirginity. Indeed her leadership deserves the tribute given Dido, _duxfemina facti_. As Calderini notes, cleverness and deception were valuedtraits in those times and both she displayed.[117] But she guarded herchastity even from her dearest and her courage never failed. On thebattle field she can shoot her arrows. She is surrounded by a divineaura of radiant beauty that illuminates her holy garb.
The real hero of the romance is her father, the Ethiopian King Hydaspes,whose qualities she seemed to have inherited. He is the type of the goodking, but beyond that he is very human. He has his humor so that whenhis nephew presents him with a gigantic athletic champion he smilinglygives him in exchange an elephant. He is generous to a defeated foe,freeing Oroondates and restoring him to his office so that the viceroymakes obeisance to him and calls him the most just of mortals. Hefollows tradition in preparing to offer to the gods foreign captives ashuman victims, but when convinced by the Gymnosophists of theinappropriateness of such sacrifice he leads his people to the rightdecision about abolishing it and happily crowns his daughter and herlover as new priests
of a purified worship.
Persinna his queen is a type of frustrated motherhood, timid enough toexpose at birth her beautiful white baby for fear of the charge ofadultery, but when her daughter is restored to her she glows with ardentparentalism and interprets Chariclea's wishes to her husband.
The characters in the sub-plot (Cnemon's story) are less clearlydelineated than those in the main narrative. The story serves howevernot merely to introduce Thisbe, who is useful for the main plot, butanticipates and prepares for certain main characters. Aristippus thebetrayed husband, Demaeneta the wanton wife, Thisbe the corrupt maid andCnemon the coveted youth parallel Oroondates, Arsace, Cybele andTheagenes himself.
The far east opens up before us under the shadow of the Great King ofthe Persians. He never appears, but his viceroys, their lieutenants,their eunuchs work his will with the complete subservience which theiract of obeisance symbolizes. Oroondates is a good fighter, but he isready to desert secretly the city of Syene, which he has been defending,before terms of surrender had been concluded, to start another war inthe name of the Great King. His will conveyed by letters must be law tohis eunuch or his wife. This arbitrariness when imitated by his eunuchEuphrates becomes sadistic tyranny over prisoners given to his care.
Arsace his wife finds her escape in intrigue and amours.[118] Highlyover-sexed she stops at nothing to satisfy her passion as her wantonfancies shift from one desired lover to another. She has no mercy forTheagenes when he is obdurate or for Chariclea when she finds she is theobject of Theagenes' affections.
Cybele her maid abets her machinations and her lust. Though her positionas confidante recalls Phaedra's nurse in the _Hippolytus_, her characterreproduces all the venality, cunning and complaisance of the maids innew Attic comedy. Torture and murder are natural tools for success inher eyes and when she is hoist with her own petard, she dies assertingthat she has been poisoned by the innocent girl whom she had hoped tomake her victim. Arsace with her Cybele is a complete foil for thepurity and loyalty of Chariclea.
The most interesting among the upright characters in the play are thepriests: Calasiris, high-priest of Isis in Egypt, Charicles, priest ofApollo at Delphi, Sisimithres, the Greek Gymnosophist. They areconsecrated to service, devoted to worship. They are men of the worldextending their knowledge by travel and talk. Calasiris on his visit toDelphi spent his days in philosophical discussion of religious rites andthe meaning of the gods of Greece and of Egypt. Charicles is ahumanitarian who educates the little waif Chariclea as his own daughter.Sisimithres dares withdraw from the human sacrifices proposed by a greatking and people and by his personal authority converts them from suchabominable customs to a purer conception of deity and of worship.Calasiris in his role of interpreting the events of the story andsolving its problems, in his clear philosophical interests probablyrepresents Heliodorus himself.[119]
To return to the structure of the romance, the plot with such borrowingsfrom epic and dramatic poetry, with such characters, some types, somehighly individualized, moves forward in a manner that resembles themodern cinema. There is no carefully interwoven plot such as tragedypresents, for example in _Oedipus Rex_. Rather there is a progression ofepisodes, each a clear picture in itself, all after many involutions andevolutions falling into an orderly narrative. Rattenbury thinks thatafter Heliodorus' original beginning which secures the interest andsympathy of the reader through his curiosity he fails to maintain theinterest throughout. The long retrospective narrative of Calasirisbecomes monotonous. The reader is irritated by the postponement of thedenouement after he as well as the hero and heroine knows the secret ofChariclea's parentage. Maillon, however, finds in Heliodorus a greattalent for narration. After the impressive opening scene, he says, fromnarrative to narrative, from description to description, one is ledslowly but without ennui to the grandeur of the final chapters. Thevariety of the episodes does not detract from the unity of the narrativebecause we keep returning to Theagenes and Chariclea in whom we havebeen interested from the first.[120]
To me personally the defects in the romance lie not in the longnarrative of Calasiris or in the early revelation of Chariclea'sidentity, but in the excessive use of descriptive passages. Plannedthough they undoubtedly are to satisfy the craving of the age for aknowledge of the novel and the strange, or to give local color, theyretard the development of the story. Often they are prolix and difficultbecause of an unfamiliar vocabulary and a complicated sentencestructure. There are many such passages: descriptions of naturalphenomena (the island city in the delta of the Nile, the straits atCalydon); of curious animals (crocodile and giraffe); of operations ofwar (a naval battle, the siege of Syene, the duel of Thyamis andPetosiris); the religious ceremonies at Delphi. These vary greatly inclarity and effectiveness, but in general they tend to be verbose and toretard the narrative. Such descriptions are however one of theconventional features of the Greek romance. And with all Heliodorus'originality in plot, in his tripartite structure of epic, dramatic andcinematic features, he employs all the usual devices of Greek romance.These are oracle and oath, resumes, conversation and rhetoricalspeeches, letters and soliloquies, meditated suicide and apparent death,dreams and epiphanies. But Heliodorus makes these conventional devicesintegral parts of his plot.
The oracle given by the Pythian priestess at Delphi early in the storymotivates the plot until the very end when its meaning is explained andits prophecy fulfilled. The oath which Chariclea requires of her loverearly in her travels protects her chastity through all the intimacies ofpalace apartment and prison dungeons. Resumes of events given severaltimes by Cnemon, by Calasiris in his long narrative, by Charicles,clarify and facilitate the plot.[121] Conversation is used constantly onthe battle field or in the boudoir, in palaces, in dungeons. Turn overthe pages of Heliodorus' Greek as you would a modern novel and test howoften the pages are broken and enlivened by talk. Rhetoric colors someof the longer speeches, but in the court-room scene (the trial ofChariclea for poisoning Cybele) the procedure is described but thespeeches are not quoted.
Letters are as important as oracles for the development of the plot. Theletter of Persinna inscribed on the fillet exposed with her childfurnishes the indisputable evidence for the recognition of Chariclea.The letter in Thisbe's dead hand is of prime importance in the sub-plotin announcing to Cnemon the death of his wicked step-mother. Businessletters of Mithranes to Oroondates, of Oroondates to Arsace and to theeunuch Euphrates, of Hydaspes to the Supreme Council of Ethiopia and tohis queen Persinna furnish documentation for the march of events. Theletter of Oroondates to Hydaspes in the last book prepares the way forCharicles' final explanation of his relation to his foster-daughter andhis own recognition of Chariclea.
Soliloquies reveal emotional states and meditated suicide. At Chemmisone night Chariclea left alone yields to despair and vows that if shelearns Theagenes is dead, she will join him in the shades. An apparentdeath nearly precipitates tragedy when in the dark of the cave the bodyof Thisbe is mistaken for that of Chariclea. Theagenes bursts intodespairing lamentation and proposes suicide. But Cnemon foreseeing thishas filched his sword and presently the light of Cnemon's torch revealsthe truth and there ensues a happy reversal of fortune.
Among all these usual features of the plot a new importance is given todreams and epiphanies. They are peculiarly significant because of theirbearing on Heliodorus' philosophical and religious interests. Somemotivate minor events or simply create atmosphere. Thyamis in the nightbefore the battle with another band of brigands had a vision of Isis whogave Chariclea to him with the mystic words: "Having her, you will nothave her, but you will be unjust and will kill the stranger. And shewill not be killed." At first Thyamis, interpreting the dream inaccordance with his own wishes, thought it meant that he would murderher virginity, but she would live. Then when the battle went againsthim, he changed his interpretation and to save Chariclea from his foes,killed her (as he thought) in the cave. So Thisbe's death is explained.Another dream of little importance is Chariclea's in which a
wildlooking man appeared and pierced her right eye with his sword. Opposinginterpretations are given by Theagenes and Cnemon. The epiphanies,however, which are vitally significant for the plot all foretell thefinal fortunes of the hero and the heroine. To Calasiris Apollo andDiana appeared, the god leading Theagenes, the goddess Chariclea, andintrusted them to him. Diana too bade him consider the pair as hischildren and take them to Egypt when and how the gods should decree.Charicles too dreamed that an eagle flew from the hand of Apollo, seizedChariclea and bore her away from Delphi to a land of dark forms.Calasiris again had a vision, this time of Odysseus, the greattraveller, who demanded sacrifices and presented Penelope's blessing onChariclea. Calasiris after his death himself appeared simultaneously toChariclea and Theagenes, telling the heroine that the Pantarbe jewelwould protect her, and telling the hero that he would be freed fromArsace and take his Lady to Ethiopia. Hydaspes, when the prisonerChariclea is brought before him, recalled a dream that a full-growndaughter was born to him and the face of this dream-girl wasChariclea's. This prepared him for the real recognition of her identity.Now the validity of these apparitions is sometimes questioned: are theydreams or visions? The author comments that desire often promptsfavorable interpretation. He has Hydaspes' officers tell him that themind creates for itself fantasies which seem to foretell future events.He has the optimistic Chariclea encourage Theagenes to trust in the godsand interpret Calasiris' prophecies as beneficent. But all the sameHeliodorus motivates his plot by this popular belief in dreams andepiphanies.
This structural element fits in with the religious-philosophicalcoloring of the whole background. Dreams and epiphanies, miracles andnecromancy are partial manifestations of a deep-seated interest in cultsand philosophies that is a phenomenon of the times. There is a longdescription of the festival of Neoptolemus at Delphi with its pageantry,sacrifices, hymn, dance, libations and the lighting of the pyre. It ishere that Theagenes and Chariclea meet and at first sight fall in love.Nausicles the merchant must sacrifice to Hermes, god of trade. Thefestival of the overflowing of the Nile is celebrated in Egypt. Andamong the Ethiopians the first fruits of victory in war are offered inthe form of sacrifice of human captives to their gods. The mostprominent cults are those of Apollo-Helios of Delphi, Egypt and Ethiopiaand of the Egyptian Isis. These are savior gods to whom mortals offerpetitions for salvation.
Opinions differ as to whether the representation of the cult of Heliosis the usual conventional religious background of a Greek romance orwhether it is the author's glorification of the cult of his native citywith which he and his family had some official connection. At theantipodes in criticism are Rattenbury who perceives only the usualreligious conventions and Calderini who thinks the unique feature of the_Aethiopica_ is its rich philosophical coloring.[122] All would agree onmarked influence in Heliodorus of Neo-Pythagoreanism and the teachingsof Apollonius of Tyana as recorded by Philostratus.[123] Maillon in hispreface gives this discriminating summary of his own position towardsHeliodorus' philosophical interests. He says that the Pantheon ofHeliodorus does not contain many deities. He refers to the gods underthe Neo-Pythagorean name of {hoi kreittones}. Calasiris whose role ismost important may well represent the author's state of mind. Thispriest of Isis practices a large eclecticism. He goes to Delphi anddivides his time between the service of the temple and theologicaldiscussion. He worships especially one god, Apollo of Delphi, Helios ofEmesa. Apollo directs the drama of his story, Helios crowns it inEthiopia. One sees in Heliodorus the intention of simplifying andunifying mythology and of bringing back religion to its eastern andEgyptian origins. Instead of wishing to discredit pagan stories, hetreats them philosophically to make them acceptable to an age which wasbecoming emancipated and more severe and to a new faith which wished toreconcile the philosophical tradition and the sense of the divine andthe mysterious.
Neo-Pythagoreanism was a curious attempt to found a religion which wouldsatisfy both the critical spirit and the people. At the beginning of thethird century appeared _The Life of Apollonius of Tyana_, a magician anda disciple of Pythagoras. Philostratus takes his hero to the Orient,Ethiopia, Greece, Rome. He writes a real romance. And that of Heliodorusrecalls it often. Both authors show the same admiration for theGymnosophists, the same distinction between magic and theurgy. BothApollonius and Calasiris are opposed to impure sacrifices. The story ofthe magical Pantarbe jewel appears in both Philostratus and Heliodorus.Calasiris like Apollonius is a model of Pythagorean asceticism.Apollonius defends himself about working miracles and lets a doubtappear about his theurgic powers. Calasiris shows in daily life a commonwisdom and reserves for exceptional cases an appeal to great demons.
In the _Aethiopica_ dreams play a more important role than the demons.Communications with the invisible world are constant, but onlyexceptional human beings who have had long experience in divine mattersand a life mortified and purified by expiation know the mysteries of theinvisible world.
This paraphrase of Maillon's paragraphs shows how completely logical isthe conclusion of the romance where the noble Gymnosophist Sisimithrespersuades the king of the Ethiopians and his people to renounce humansacrifice and accept the divine blessing on the loves of Theagenes andChariclea.
"At length Hydaspes said to Sisimithres, 'O sage! What are we to do? To defraud the gods of their victims is not pious; to sacrifice those who appear to be preserved and restored by their providence is impious. It needs that some expedient be found out.'
Sisimithres, speaking, not in the Grecian, but in the Ethiopian tongue, so as to be heard by the greatest part of the assembly, replied: 'O king! The wisest among men, as it appears, often have the understanding clouded through excess of joy, else, before this time, you would have discovered that the gods regard not with favour the sacrifice which you have been preparing for them. First they, from the very altar, declared the all-blessed Chariclea to be your daughter; next they brought her foster-father most wonderfully from the midst of Greece to this spot; they struck panic and terror into the horses and oxen which were being prepared for sacrifice, indicating, perhaps, by that event, that those whom custom considered as the more perfect and fitting victims were to be rejected. Now, as the consummation of all good, as the perfection of the piece, they show this Grecian youth to be the betrothed husband of the maiden. Let us give credence to these proofs of the divine and wonder-working will; let us be fellow workers with this will; let us have recourse to holier offerings; let us abolish, for ever, these detested human sacrifices.'"[124]
A few words must be said on the style of Heliodorus. It is predominantlyliterary, but extremely varied. He uses Homer almost as much as Charitondoes. His adaptation of Homeric episodes has already beendescribed.[125] A discussion of Homer and his parentage betweenCalasiris and Cnemon is introduced in the style of the rhetoricalschools.[126] Descriptions as well as episodes owe much to Homericcoloring, witness the epiphany of Odysseus.[127] But above all thelanguage itself is almost as rich in quotations from Homer as isChariton's.
Often reminiscent phraseology betrays quotations in solution. Frequentlytoo very famous phrases are quoted directly. Calasiris greets Nausicleswith that best of all wishes: "May the gods give you your heart'sdesire!" Nausicles reminds Calasiris that the gifts of the gods are notto be despised. The maid Cybele assures Arsace that soon Theagenes willdesert Chariclea for her, exchanging bronze for gold.[128] Emotionalcrises are described or expressed in Homer's words. Arsace'ssleeplessness has the same manifestations as Achilles. Cnemon upbraidsChariclea for her pessimism about Theagenes' fate in the words ofAgamemnon to Chalchas. And Chariclea when she is questioned byphysicians as to the cause of her illness only keeps repeating:"Achilles, Peleus' son, noblest of Greeks!" as though only theapostrophe uttered by Patroclus could describe her dear Theagenes.[129]These are but a few illustrations of Heliodorus' constant use of Homericdiction.
No less did he use the language of the theater.[130] We have alreadyseen how much his plot owes to the structure of Gre
ek tragedy. Fromdrama he took also a vocabulary of pungent metaphors to describe theprogress of events in his story. Repeatedly the action is referred to asa tragedy.[131] And certain scenes by their wording imply a recognition,a _deus ex machina_, a prologue and a change from tragedy to comedy.These may, as Calderini suggests, be reminiscences of contemporary playsnow lost, which readers of the time would recognize.[132] Certainlystructure and language of the romance attest Heliodorus' deep interestin the theater.
The third striking element in the diction of Heliodorus is therhetorical. He often uses all the artifices taught in the schools:alliterations, antitheses, set phrases. He loves the grand style. Aspeech, even one uttered by his charming heroine, is an opportunity forpomposity. He uses in excess that fine writing for descriptive passageswhich the schools taught and he scatters throughout his narrative pithytruisms or _sententiae_ which were part of the capital of therhetorician.
But these lapses into over-refined phrases, laborious symmetry anddecorative rhetoric are less of a barrier to a modern reader than is hissyntax. His sentence structure in general is not paratactic as is somuch of Chariton and of Xenophon, but complex. Moreover these complexsentences are often exceedingly long with a kind of agglutinativeaccumulation of participial constructions that demands re-reading forcomprehension. Yet he can be simple and pellucid in rapid narrative andemotional crises as the final Book shows. And it is just because much ofhis narrative is so exciting that we fall into resentful criticism whenHomer nods in dull drowsiness.[133]
Although we cannot date the _Aethiopica_ more exactly than somewhere inthe third century (probably in the first half), the romance reflects ingeneral the life of the times in which Heliodorus lived. The east daubsits brilliant colors upon the story as the power of oriental rulersimpinges on the life of the Greeks. The absolutism of the Great King ofPersia is the model for minor courts of viceroys and their queens whodemand of their subjects and captives the obeisance that they mustrender to their Super-Ruler. Military officers and eunuchs are thedescending steps in this hierarchy of tyranny.
Adventures center in war and travel. Cities and tribes revolt. Heroesmust display military virtues. Merchants, priests and women travelwidely, braving the dangers of storms at sea and of attacks by pirates.Women have found a new freedom and are leaders in courage and enduranceas the story of Chariclea shows. Women take part in banquets andreligious ceremonies as well as in adventures. Romantic friendshipbetween men and admiration of young men's beauty are a counterpart ofthe famous relation between Hadrian and Antinous. Slaves and captivesmay become court favorites or be subjected to indignities, imprisonment,torture.
The times are characterized too by an eager search for the new, theunfamiliar, by scientific curiosity, by an interest in art. Sodescriptions of strange countries and peoples, accounts of strangeadventures and sights are part of the novelist's stock in trade. Hedescribes vividly the island city in the Nile's delta, its water-waysthrough the reeds, its cave refuge with its secret entrance; or he givesa technical account of the engineering processes by which a city isbesieged by threat of inundation; or he pictures such a curiosity in theanimal world as a giraffe. Works of art are featured with admiring care:Theagenes' embroidered robe and its clasp, Chariclea's robe and itsgirdle, the amethyst ring with its carved scene, the painting of Perseusand Andromeda, nude, shining, chained to the rock.
And part of the picture of the times centers in man's quest for newvalues for life itself. Ethical standards for conduct are weighed andemphasized in contrasts between Greeks and barbarians. Aspirationtowards the higher life is portrayed in the worship of the gods and itsceremonials and in the philosophical discussions in which the prieststake part. The Gymnosophists and Calasiris share a large humanity.
The primary interests of the romance, however, far outweighing itsphilosophy and its adventures, is love. Once more two enchanting youngpeople meet at a festival of a god, fall in love at first sight, plighttheir troth, accompany each other through world-wide adventures,preserve their faith and their chastity and for their piety are at lastunited in perfect happiness. Theagenes and Chariclea join Chaereas andCallirhoe, Habrocomes and Anthia, Clitophon and Leucippe, Daphnis andChloe in the undying annals of true love. And the reader closesHeliodorus' novel with Cnemon's comment:
"I am at feud with Homer, father, for saying that love, as well as everything else, brings satiety in the end; for my part I am never tired either of feeling it myself, or hearing of its influence on others; and lives there the man of so iron and adamantine an heart, as not to be enchanted with listening to the loves of Theagenes and Chariclea, though the story were to last a year?"[134]