HeliodorusAn Ethiopian Romance

The beautiful heroine of this story was born white to two black parents, the king and queen of Ethiopia.As a baby her mother abandoned her to die, for fear that her husband would think that she had cheated on him. This is the tale of how the daughter survives and eventually finds her way home as an adult, together with her soulmate lover.It is told with many meandering digressions with multiple narrators, one story leading to a backstory, leading to another backstory.Fun detail -- the author (writing around 200-300 AD) claims that Homer was an Egyptian (pp. 69 and 73).

Book arrived in excellent condition. Good purchase.

This edition has an introduction, but no footnotes.

It’s honestly one of the best Greek novels I’ve read. It’s an easy read. It’s difficult to put it down as I was always wondering “what next?” Like other Greek novels, the characters find their ways into one another’s lives

I liked the book, the book came pretty speedily from the company I bought from, and it was definitely a joyful read. I read it for a college class, but even if I weren't in a class and found this book it would have been nice to read, this coming from someone that reads all over the place anyways, but is the least likely to read classical stories.

Okay book. Had to read for college class.

great book.

required reading for a greek literature class, but a fantastic love story. the element of suspense and wondering when the couple was going to finally get together, just about drove me nuts.

Probably not to everyone's taste, this was a bit of a challenge for me, chosen from the pre-1700 section of the 1001 Books list. Originally written around the 3rd century, my copy was a revised edition of a 1587 translation. It tells of the romance between Chariclea and Theagenes, she the daughter of Ethiopian royalty banished at birth, and he her faithful champion, and details their journey to return to her family. Along the way they are involved in battles and wars, abducted into slavery, tortured, make friends and enemies and the story gets deeper and more involved at every page. With many seemingly unconnected layers that all come together at the end, this is Shakespeare meets Pulp Fiction. Great stuff!