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Daphnis and Chloe (Greek: Δαφνιν και Χλοην, Daphnin kai Chloēn) is the only known work of the 2nd century AD Greek novelist and romancer Longus.[1]
[edit] Setting and style
It is set on the isle of Lesbos during the 2nd century AD, which is also assumed to be the author's home. Its style is rhetorical and pastoral, its shepherds and shepherdesses are wholly conventional, but the author imparts human interest to this idealized world. Daphnis and Chloe resembles a modern novel more than does its chief rival among Greek erotic romances, the Aethiopica of Heliodorus, which is remarkable more for its plot than its characterization.
[edit] Plot summary
Daphnis and Chloe, two children found by shepherds, grow up together, nourishing a mutual love which neither suspects. The development of their passion forms the chief interest, and there are few incidents. Chloe is carried off by a pirate, and ultimately regains her family. Rivals trouble Daphnis' peace of mind; but the two lovers are recognized by their parents, and return to a happy married life in the country.
[edit] Characters
The human characters in the novel include:
- Chloe - The heroine
- Daphnis - The hero
- Dorcon - The would-be suitor of Chloe
- Dryas - Chloe's foster father
- Eros - god of love
- Lamon - Daphnis' foster father
- Myrtale - Daphnis' foster mother
- Nape - Chloe's foster mother
- Philetas - old countryman who advises the heroes about love; likely named after Philitas of Cos[2]
[edit] Reception and influences
Daphnis and Chloe was the model of La Sireine of Honoré d'Urfé, the Diana enamorada of Jorge de Montemayor, the Aminta of Torquato Tasso, and The Gentle Shepherd of Allan Ramsay. The novel Paul et Virginie echos the same story. Also, Maurice Ravel based his ballet, Daphnis et Chloé, on the story.
The French translation, as prepared by Jacques Amyot, bishop of Auxerre and revised by Paul Louis Courier, is perhaps better known than the original. It appeared in 1559. The story has been prepared in numerous illustrated editions, including a 1937 limited edition with woodcuts by Aristide Maillol, and a 1977 edition illustrated by Marc Chagall.
The 1952 work Shiosai (The Sound of the Waves), written by the well-known Japanese writer Yukio Mishima following a visit to Greece, is considered to have been inspired by the Daphnis and Chloe myth.
The Princess Bride also incorporates elements of the story in the romance between Wesley and Princess Buttercup, although it is Wesley who is abducted by the Dread Pirate Roberts.
[edit] Adaptation (2006)
The work was adapted into a 45-minute radio play by Hattie Naylor, first broadcast at 14:15 on Friday 3 March 2006, BBC Radio 3. This broadcast was repeated as the Afternoon Play 14:15 on Wednesday 27 June 2007, and made available for streaming download for 7 days on the BBC Radio Four, Afternoon Play Webpage
It was played for comedy, with the sexual encounters preceded by 'I must speak in Latin!' and each dream-sleep preceded by a sudden comic thud. The cast were as follows-
[edit] See also
Other ancient Greek novelists:
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ It has been suggested that the name "Longus" is merely a misreading of the last word of the title Λεσβιακῶν ἐρωτικῶν λόγοι δ in the Florentine manuscript; Seiler also observes that the best manuscript begins and ends with λόγου (not λόγγου) ποιμενικῶν.
- ^ Richard Hunter (1996). "Longus, Daphnis and Chloe", in Gareth L. Schmeling: The Novel in the Ancient World. Brill, 361–86. ISBN 9004096302.
[edit] Further reading
[edit] Editions
- Columbani, Raphael; Henry Cuffe and Marcello Adriani (1598). Longi Pastoralium, de Daphnide & Chloë libri quatuor. Florence: Apud Philippum Iunctam. The first printed edition.
- Courier, Paul Louis (1810). Contained a previously unknown passage, after the discovery of a new manuscript.
- Athenian Society (1896). Longus, literally and completely translated from the Greek. Athens: Privately printed. Retrieved on 2007-06-22. With English translation.
- Edmonds, John Maxwell (1916). Daphnis & Chloe, by Longus; The Love Romances of Parthenius and Other Fragments, Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-99076-5. With English translation revised from that of George Thornley.
- Dalmeyda, George [1934] (1971). Pastorales (Daphnis et Chloe) / Longus, Collection des universités de France. Paris: Belles Lettres. With French translation.
- Reeve, Michael D. [1982] (1994). Daphnis et Chloe / Longus, Editio correctior, Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana, Stuttgart: Teubner. ISBN 3815419328. Reeve's text is reprinted with the translation and commentary by Morgan (see below).
[edit] English translations
- Thornley, George (1657). Daphnis and Chloe: A Most Sweet, and Pleasant Pastorall ROMANCE for Young Ladies. Retrieved on 2007-08-20. A revised version is printed with Edmonds's text (see above).
- Hadas, Moses (1953). Three Greek Romances. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. ISBN 0-672-60442-6.
- Turner, Paul [1956] (1989). Longus: Daphnis and Chloe, Penguin Classics. Harmondsworth: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044059-3.
- Gill, Christopher (1989). "Longus: Daphnis and Chloe", in Bryan P. Reardon (ed.): Collected Ancient Greek Novels. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, pp. 285–348. ISBN 0-520-04306-5.
- McCail, Ronald (2002). Daphnis and Chloe / Longus, Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-284052-5.
- Morgan, J. R. (2004). Longus: Daphnis and Chloe, Aris and Phillips Classical Texts. Oxford: Oxbow Books. ISBN 0-85668-562-3 (cloth); ISBN 0-85668-563-1 (pbk.). With reprint of Reeve's text and a commentary.
- Tyrrell, Wm. Blake (n.d.). "Daphnis and Chloe: A Novel by Longus". Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
[edit] External links
Editions of the Greek text
- Longi Pastoralia First complete Greek text of Daphnis and Chloe, edited by P.-L. Courier, with a Latin translation by G. R. Lud. de Sinner. Paris, 1829.
- Longi Pastoralia Greek text of Daphnis and Chloe with a Latin translation, edd. Seiler, Schaefer, Boissonade & Brunck. Leipzig, 1843.
- Erotici Scriptores Paris, 1856, pp. 739. Longi Pastoralia, Greek text with Latin translation, edited by G A Hirschig, pp. 174-222.
- Daphnis and Chloe The Bibliotheca Classica Selecta's 2006-2007 edition of the Greek text with the French translation of Jacques Amyot revised, corrected and completed by P.-L. Courier.
Synopses, Analyses, and Other Studies
Art inspired by Daphnis and Chloe
- Daphnis and Chloe After the painting by Ricardo Lopez Cabrera (Spain). Etched by Gaston Manchon.
- A Pastoral Idyll Goatherd watching over a Shepherdess, Francois Boucher, 1703-1770.
- An early edition Title-page of the 1786 edition of the Greek text published by Giambattista Bodoni at the Royal Printing Works of Parma, Italy.
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