Egypt in Greco-Roman History and Fiction

Department of English and Comparative Literature, American University in
Cairo
Egypt in Greco-Roman History and Fiction /
Author(s): Stephen Nimis and
Source: Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, No. 24, Archeology of Literature: Tracing the Old
in the New / : (2004), pp. 34-67
Published by: Department of English and Comparative Literature, American University in Cairo
and American University in Cairo Press
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Egyptin Greco-RomanHistoryand Fiction*

Stephen Nimis
In thecurrent
politicalandintellectual
context
itis notnecessary
to explainthattheportrait
createdby one people,suchas theGreeks
or Romans,of another,
suchas Egypt,is likelyto be a "construction"
morethana "representation."
In his 1971 surveyof the subject,C.
Froidefondcharacterized
Greekviews of Egyptas a "mirage,"an
imaginative
visionthathad as muchto do withwhotheGreekswere
as ithadwithwhotheEgyptians
were.1EdwardSaid's 1978landmark
workon orientalism
tracedhow thatEgyptianmiragedevelopedand
enduredovertheyearsinresponsetoEurope'sownevolvingidentity,
andhisbookmadea strong
case forwhathasbecomea keyideainculturalstudies:Powerfollowsknowledge,
and theseemingly
objective
and scientificstudyof otherculturesis oftenan accessoryto the
crimescommitted
by empiresin thenameof civilization.2
The enormous-and oftennasty-controversy
thatswirledaroundthepublicationofMartinBernal'sBlackAthena,withitsaccusationofracismin
theconductof Europeanhistoriography,
in thetreatment
particularly
oftherelationship
betweenEuropeandEgypt,has dealta devastating
blowto thepose ofobjectivity
in theconductofscholarship.3
Despite
thiscontroversy,
or perhapsbecause of it, the peculiarpositionof
Egyptintheimaginations
oftheGreeksandRomansanditsroleinthe
classicalworldcontinueto be a subjectofthegreatest
I wish
interest.
tocontribute
tothisdiscussionbylookingattheroleEgyptplaysinthe
so-calledGreekromances,
prosenarratives
oflove andadventure
that
werecomposedduringtheRomanempire.I willbeginby selectively
sketching
ideas aboutEgyptin Greekand Romanlettersas a context
formyremarks.4
GreekViewsofEgypt
References
to Egyptoccurin practically
everyclassicalauthor,
but it would not be correctto say thatEgyptwas "central"to the
34
Alif24 (2004)
world.Indeed,marginality
is paradoxically
centralto
Greco-Roman
classical sourceon
classical views of Egypt.5The mostimportant
fromhis discussion
Egyptis Herodotus'accountin a longdigression
thattakesup theentiresecondbook
ofthePersianWars,a digression
of theHistories.Herodotus'manyfactualerrorshave longbeenrecbuildersbya thoudatingofthepyramid
ognized,suchas hisincorrect
sandyears,buttheseare theleastof his faults.A. B. Lloyd,whohas
on Herodotus'Egyptian
writtenthe most thoroughcommentary
account,concludesthatHerodotus"presentsa view of Egypt'spast
of Egyptian history.
which shows no genuine understanding
customizedforGreekconhas been uncompromisingly
Everything
sumptionand cast unequivocallyintoa Greekmould."6Indeed,as
counFrancoisHartoghasargued,Egyptwas oneofmany"barbarian"
as an
trieswhosecustomswereoftendefinedby theGreekhistorian
seem
to
have
reversed
the
inversion
ofGreekcustoms:"TheEgyptians
ordinarypracticesof mankind."7However, since barbariansin
ofGreecebutalso setincontendtobe notonlyinversions
Herodotus
and inconsistent
relationto one another,
shifting
alignments
trasting
sometimesemerge.For example,Hartogtakesthe Scythiansas an
exampleof the "mirror"
of Herodotus,in whichtheyare negative
of everything
thesesame Scythians
reflections
Greek.Nevertheless,
to the
become increasingly
"Greek-like"whentheyare contrasted
Amazons,in orderto conveythe othernessof the Amazonsto his
ofvariousreligiousoutrages
comGreekaudience.8Herodotus'report
mitted
bythePersianKingCambysesin histripto Egypt,mostlikely
fictitious,9
affinity
betweenEgyptand Greece,
producesa surprising
sincebothare thepious victimsof impiousPersians.Herodotus,in
towardsEgypt,a placethatis simulfact,displaysa deepambivalence
andrepulsive.To Herodotus,
Egyptis a landof
taneouslyfascinating
enormousantiquity,
mucholderthanGreekcivilization,a land of
ancientwisdom,thesourceof Greekreligion,particularly
thenames
ofthegods,andmostofall a landfullofwonders:naturalones,such
as theNile river,and evenmoreimpressive
man-madeones,suchas
thepyramids.
However,as PhirozeVasunianotes,Herodotuscould
conceiveof no way thesecolossalmonuments
couldhave beenexecutedwithoutslave labor,whichcontributed
to anotherkey cliche
aboutEgypt,itsinclination
Froma politicalstandtowardsdespotism.
point,Egyptcould not forHerodotusbe a school fordemocratic
Greece.10At thesametime,thegreatantiquity
ofEgyptis weddedto
an emphasison itsimmutability,
so thatGreece'sprogressiveness
is
Alif24 (2004)
35
contrasted
withthestaticcharacter
frequently
ofEgyptian
civilization.
a
nor
but
Justas Egyptis neither
which
Europe
Asia,
place through
each passeson thewayto theother,Egyptis also strangely
outofthe
streamin whichtheeventsofEuropeandAsia lie.11
temporal
Two GreektragediescentralizeGreek-Egyptian
comparisons,
theSuppliantWomenofAeschylusandtheHelenofEuripides.12
The
firstinvolvesthestoryof thedescendants
of lo, theArgivewoman
impregnated
byZeus. She traveledto Egyptin theformof a cow and
theregave birthto Epaphus,whosedescendants
ruledEgyptandthen
foundednumerousimportant
citiesin Greece. This kind of story,
whoserationaleseemstobe thedesireto makea claimofrelativepriwillreappearindifferent
ority,
claimsaboutthe
guises,as willvarying
relativeantiquity
of Egyptand Europe.Aeschylus'playrecountsthe
flightof thefifty
daughters
of Danaus (theDanaids) fromtheirfifty
firstcousins,thesonsof Aegyptus,
andtheirsupplication
of theking
of Argosforprotection.
The sonsof Aegyptusare represented
in the
playby a numberof negativestereotypes:
theirblacknessis emphasizedandassociatedwithdeath;theyaresavageandlustful,
and,along
withtheDanaids,have no appreciation
of thedemocratic
institutions
ofGreece,expressing
forexample,thatthekingmustconsult
surprise,
a deliberative
bodyof Greekcitizensinsteadof simplyactingon his
own advice.The Argives,on theotherhand,are represented
as the
protectors
ofwomenagainsttheseoversexedEgyptians.
The Helen of Euripidesrecountsan alternative
versionof
Helen'swhereabouts
duringtheTrojanWar,namelythatshespentthe
10 yearsof thewarin Egypt.Herodotuscitesan accounthe received
fromtheEgyptianpriestsat Memphis,who claimedthatHelen had
beenkeptbythegoodkingProteus,
thetypeofthegenerous
host,until
therightful
husbandcould come forher(Histories2.113-15).In the
Proteusis a mythical
Odyssey,
monster
whomMenelausencounters
in
Egypton his way homefromTroy.He is theOld Man of theSea,
whosewisdomis accessibleonlytothosewhocan holdhimfastwhile
he changeshis form(Od. 4.351-570). In Euripides'versionwhen
Menelausis shipwrecked
inEgypton hiswayhome,he discoversthat
therealHelenhas beenthereall along,whileGreeksandTrojanshad
beenfighting
overa phantom
double.In thistelling,
however,
Proteus'
son, Theoclymenus,
is king;but he turnsout to be anotherlustful
Egyptiantrying
to haveHelenforhimself.
Notthegeneroushost,but
thexenophobic
murderer
whocustomarily
killsstrangers
wholandon
his shore, Theclymenusis similarto the sons of Aegyptusin
36
Alif24 (2004)
Aeschylus'play,fromwhoserapaciousgripthegoodGreekmenmust
wresttheirwomen.Such storiesclearlyreflectmoreabouttheanxietiesofGreekmenthantheydo aboutrealEgyptians.
intothe
The figureof Proteusis one of manyimportations
Egyptiankinglistsof Greekfigures.Anotherkingmanufactured
by
of thename
theGreeksis Busiris,whosenameis likelya corruption
of thegod Osiris.13This Busiriswas thenegativeimageof thegood
and eat them,an
host Proteus;he was reputedto kill foreigners
Without
meninstanceof thenotorious
xenophobiaoftheEgyptians.
notesthetaleas an exampleofthe
Busirisbyname,Herodotus
tioning
silly stories Greeks make up about Egyptians (Hist. 2.45).
withcanniconnected
Nevertheless,
Egyptianxenophobia,
frequently
to theveryendof antiqofEgyptians
balism,persistsas a stereotype
uity.14In the fourthcenturyIsocratesmakes a mock defenseof
of theaffairsof
Busiris,whichpraiseshimas a masteradministrator
forGreece:
Egypt,anda modelofgood government
As forthearrangement
bywhichtheypreserve
theirkingshipand therestof theirstate,theydo so well thatthe
philosophers
who attempt
to discusssuchthingsand are
mosthighlyregarded
choosetopraisetheEgyptianstate,
andtheSpartansmanagetheircitybestwhentheyimitate
somepartoftheEgyptians'practice.15
Theparodiccontext
ofthisquotemakesitunlikely
thatthisuncharacteristic
ofadmiration
Isocrates
expression
bytheusuallyAthenocentric
is heartfelt.
It is morelikely,as Vasuniaargues,thatthisrepresents
an
withtheideasofPlatoon goodgovernment.
In thecourseof
engagement
thefourth
a morepositiveevaluation
ofmonarchy
in thephilocentury,
is reflected
notonlyingreater
sophicaltradition
praiseforSparta,
butalso
forEgyptfordisplaying
thestability
associated
withstrong
central
rule.
Plato's own relationship
to Egyptis complexand ambivalent,
butcertainkeythemescanbe highlighted.
In thenarrative
ofthestory
of Atlantisin the Timaeusand Critias,Plato reversesthe relative
of Egyptand Athens;buttheAtheniansmustlearnthis
chronology
truehistory
fromtheEgyptians,
becauseonlytheyhavethetechnical
resourcesto preservethememory
ofthedistantpast.However,superiorEgyptiandocumentary
skills do not themselvesparticipate
in
Plato's own greaterphilosophical
project,as is evidentfromthecriin thefamousstoryofthePhaedrus.16
tiqueofEgyptian
writing
Thus
Alif24 (2004)
37
whenSolon thelawgiveris toldby theEgyptians

in theTimaeusthat
theoriginalAthenshad a government
thatwas identicalto theideal
one describedinPlato'sRepublic,thisis Plato'swayofusingthe"culturalcapital"of Egyptto his ownpurposes.If Plato's ownantidemomake the authoritarian
of Egyptan
craticsentiments
government
apparent
allyinhisideas aboutkingship,
itshouldbe emphasizedthat
northoseof Isocrates,
his
ideas
about
neither
Egyptiangovernment,
forcontemporary
or sympathy
reveala genuineunderstanding
Egypt,
the
was
ruled
Persians.
whichformostof the classical period
by
and lawgiversmaking
aboutGreekintellectuals
Althoughtraditions
tripstoEgypt,wheretheywereschooledinEgyptian
wisdom,grewto
it is striking
includePlatohimself,
thedegreeto whichEgyptwas an
fortheirownpurposes,rather
than
idea fortheGreeks,manufactured
on itsownterms.
a contemporary
realitywhichtheyconfronted
Greeksand Egyptiansin theHellenisticEra
WiththeconquestofEgyptbyAlexandertheGreatin 332 BC,
the relationshipbetween Greeks and Egyptiansintensifiedand
changed.Afterthedeathof AlexanderthePtolemaic,rulersofEgypt
whosucceededhimseemedto be intent
on maintaining
class andethnic distinctions,
but theyalso made significant
gesturesto present
themselvesas restorers
of Egyptianinstitutions
dismantledby the
Persiansand as continuers
of Pharaonictraditions.
In thethreecenturiesofPtolemaicrulethecenterof gravity
ofGreekintellectual
life
shiftedtowardAlexandria,with its famouslibraryand generous
in Egyptwas fueled
patronage
by therulersof Egypt.Greekinterest
by greatercontactand greaterfamiliarity
withEgyptiansources.A
numberofnewhistorical
workswerecomposedat thistimein Greek,
suchas theAigyptiacaof Hecateausof Abderaand theAigyptiacaof
Manetho,bothnow lostexceptforexcerptsand epitomes.The latter
authorwas an Egyptianwriting
in Greek,who critiquedotherGreek
writers
and presented
accountsof eventssuchas thecolonizationof
Greecethatweremorefavorableto Egypt.He also insistedon the
andpriority
ofEgyptinrespecttoa number
antiquity
ofimportant
culturalphenomena.17
Hecataeusof Abderacentralized
thestoryof lo
and herdescendants
in his account,likewisereasserting
thechronoof Egyptand emphasizing
logical priority
theculturalcontributions
thatEgypthadmadetoworldhistory.
He was also thefirst
tointerpret
as thedistorted
Egyptian
myths
recordsofmortalkingswhoweredei38
Alif24 (2004)
fiedaftertheirdeath,whichis partofa moregeneraltendency

toinsist
on theunderlying
of Egyptianculture.18
Thisis an imporrationality
tantdevelopment
becauseitcontributed
tothesensethatEgyptian
traditionwas a bodyofwisdomthatneededtobe interpreted
allegorically,a coursethatwouldlead eventually
tothehermetic
corpusofliteraturein lateantiquity.
Recentscholarshaveseenin thecontextofthisintensified
contact and mutualinterestbetweenGreeks and Egyptiansof the
Hellenisticera the development
of a new aesthetic,whichSusan
Stephenscalls "SeeingDouble."19In thisviewHellenistic
Greekliteraturetendsto straddleGreekand Egyptianaudiencesand cultural
in certainwaysthatprovidefora dual readingof them.
assumptions
The overwhelmingly
Greektradition
ofallusionandmaterial
foundin
thisliterature
is sometimes
foran
adaptedin waysthatmakeprovision
Egyptian
wayoflookingatthings.
One exampleStephens
givesis from
theso-calledAlexander
Romance,a textthatintheformthathas come
downto us is a compilation
fromthethirdcentury
ofthecommonera,
butwhosefirst
chapter
mostscholarsagreemustgo backto thebeginningsofthePtolemaicdynasty.
Thispartofthenarrative
recounts
how
NectaneboII, the last indigenouspharaohof Egypt,travelsto the
Macedoniancourtwherehe ensconceshimselfas a magicianand
astrologer.
By magicand ruses,he managesto sleep withOlympia,
Philip'squeen,convincing
herthatshewillbecomeimpregnated
bythe
godAmmonandgivebirth
toa son.IntimeOlympiabecomespregnant
withAlexanderwhoas a manseeksoutthetruth
abouthispaternity
at
theoracleof Ammonin Siwa. Therehe is confirmed
to be thesonof
Ammon,who instructs
him to foundthe city of Alexandria.In
Memphis,however,Alexandersees a statueof NectaneboII withan
inscription
predicting
thefugitive
king'sreturn
as a youth.Alexander
recognizeshimselfas thefulfillment
of theprophecy
and explainshis
lineage publicly.From a Greek perspective,the fashioningof
Alexander'sinvasionof Egyptas a "return"
recallsthemythsof the
descendants
of lo who "return"
to GreecefromEgypt.20But at the
same timethereseem to be too manyfathersin thisscenario-is
Alexandertheson of Ammonor Nectanebo?However,as Stephens
pointsout,thescenariois onethatis perfectly
comprehensible
froman
Egyptian
perspective,
wherethepharaohis alwaysthesonofa mortal
butatthesametimea manifestation
father,
ofthegodon earth,
thelivingHorus.Ratherthana piece of Egyptianpropaganda,
as it is often
to be, Stephenssees thestoryas a Greekinvention
thought
to insert
Alif24 (2004)
39
ofEgypt,"a narraAlexanderintothepoliticalandreligioustraditions
tivethatEgyptians
andGreekscouldrecognizeas possessingfeatures
notonlyoftheirownculture
butofbothcultures."21
Anotherinteresting
exampleis Stephen'sreadingof theseventeenth
Idyllof Theocritus,whichis an encomiumof PtolemyLI.
combinations
She again identifiesa numberof intriguing
of Greek
and Egyptianthemes,deployedhereto clarifyissues of kingshipin
here.First,
theearlyPtolemaiccontext.Two pointsare noteworthy
is theemphasison thefeminineside of thefamily,whichis nota
Greektrait.The specialattention
givento thelovingmarriageofthe
parentsof PtolemyII derivesfromEgyptianideas of kingship,
whereinsuch unionsproducetrueand legitimatesons (Id. 17 3840). In thepoem,Aphroditeis fashionedas thegoddesswho oversees suchideal unions,whichis mostlikelya reflection
ofheridentitywithIsis, who is, unlikethe Greekversionof Aphrodite,the
ideal wife.It is well-known
thatone oftheinnovations
oftheGreek
romanceis to represent
truelove as a mutualdesirebetweentwo
peopleof equal status,a "sexual symmetry"
thateventuatesin marriageand permanent
happiness.22Althoughit perhapsgoes too far
to suggestthatthe originof thisidea is to be soughtin Egyptian
ideas aboutlove and marriage,theleast thatcan be said is thatthe
interpenetration
of Greek and Egyptianculturemay have contributedto makingthe idea moreacceptableto Greeks.The other
noteworthy
Greekthemein thepoem thatis enrichedby Egyptian
ideas has to do with revivifying
unguents.Aphroditerevivifies
Berenike,thewifeofPtolemyI, in waysthatcombineGreekthemes
ofthemiraculouspreservation
ofcorpsesbythegods withEgyptian
ideas of embalmingas a preludeto reanimation
and thearousalof
eroticdesire.Mummification
was one oftheexotictraditions
which
made Egyptiansseem to theGreeksbizarreand excessivelypreoccupiedwithdeath-forGreeks,bodieswereforburying
or burning.
Herodotus'accountof the practicein a virtuosopassage includes
thestatement
thattheEgyptianshad to takespecialstepsin orderto
make surethatyoungand beautifulcorpseswerenot subjectedto
necrophilia (Histories 2.86-9). The way that Stephens reads
Theocritus'poem suggests a greaterunderstanding
among his
Greek audience of the truecharacterof Egyptianpracticeswith
regardto thedead. Althoughthereare plentyof counter-examples
whichattestto hostility
betweenEgyptiansand Greeks,thesegesturesof accommodationbetweenGreeks and Egyptianslay the
40
Alif24 (2004)
groundworkfor an Egyptian-Greek
symbiosisin the contextof
Romandomination
of theMediterranean.23
Views ofEgyptiansin theRoman Period
The Ptolemaicera endswiththedeathofCleopatraVII andthe
in30 BCE.24
ofEgyptintotheRomanempireas a province
annexation
AlthoughRomanssometimes
aboutEgyptin the
expressedcuriosity
Republicanera, thereis a dramaticchange as Egyptbecomes a
province.Rome'srulein Egyptwas one ofitsmostunsuccessful
ventures,and therewas persistent
mutualhostility
and mistrust
between
Romans and Egyptians.The Egyptians"experienceda qualitative
changein repressive
withtheprincipate
ofAugustus
policybeginning
whichimposedrigidrestrictions
onupwardsocialmobility."25
Literary
sourcesfromtheAugustan
ofnegaperiodon tendto repeata number
tiveclichesandtopoi:thetreacherous
murder
of Pompeyby Ptolemy
attackon thestatebythedangerous
andseductive
XIII, thepernicious
Cleopatra,the bizarreworshipof animals,Egyptiansas cowardly
Orientalsand barbarians,
etc. In his victoryode to Augustuson the
defeatofCleopatra,
Horaceconcludeswitha famouscodawhichseems
to maketheEgyptian
butthemiddlestanzasofthe
queensympathetic,
poem are a catalogueof negativestereotypes
of Egyptians(Odes 1,
37).26OtherAugustanpoets,suchas Vergiland Ovid,also reference
Egyptinpurelynegativeterms,
butthemostoutrageous
attackis found
inJuvenal's
fifteenth
whichis a withering
satire,
exampleofJuvenalian
indignatioprompted
by a supposedinstanceof Egyptiancannibalism.27In thesesourcesemphasisis oftenplacedon theseditiousness
of
the Egyptians,whichno doubtreflectsa major contextin which
Romanseverthought
aboutEgypt,forwhomtheprovincewas simply
a land"tobe exploitedmethodically
andefficiently."28
Some Greekauthorsof theRomanperiodfollowedsuit,especiallythosewho had achievedsuccessin theRomanadministration,
suchas CassiusDio, whowas a Romansenator,
consulandgovernor
in
thesecondcentury
ofthecommonera;Reinholdconsiders
himsecond
forEgyptians.
onlyto Juvenalin hiscontempt
ButtheGreektradition
tendstobe morepositivetowardEgyptin general.Strabo'saccountof
Egyptin the seventeenth
book of his Geographywas written
in the
Augustanperiodand froma distinctly
Romanpersepective.
Strabo
himselfvisitedEgypt,but afterit had become partof the Roman
Empire,andhe sees Egyptwiththeeyesofan official,
"noting
thesetAlif24 (2004)
41
Theothersurviving
Greekdescription
tingup ofgoodRomanorder."29
of Egyptfromthisperiodis Book 1 of DiodorusSiculus' Libraryof
is ourmainsourcefor
History.Diodorus,a compilerand epitomator,
he himhistorians,
although
HecataeusofAbderaandotherHellenistic
self visitedEgyptsome timebetween60-56 BCE. UnlikeStrabo,
ofEgypt.
dimensions
andreligious
inthecultural
Diodorusis interested
of
a
tutor
of
the
wrote
two
Chaeremon Alexandria,
emperorNero,
tendencies
bookson Egypt,nowlost,whichextendedtheallegorizing
to
of Hellenisticauthorsin order showthatEgyptianmythswerein
His
withthe mainthesesof Greekphilosophy.
essentialagreement
the searchforthe secretwisdomof the
workhelpedto legitimate
Egyptiansthatwas carriedout in workslike Plutarch'sOn Isis and
corOn theMysteries
ofEgypt,and thehermetic
Osiris,Jamblichus'
as Hartognotes,it was mostlythereligious
pus.30In late antiquity,
discussionofthatland.31
ofEgypt'sprofilethatdominated
dimension
to the Greeknovels,some mentionshouldbe
Beforeturning
madeof theonlyLatinworkthatseemsto providea seriousandpositiveevaluationof Egyptianreligion,theeleventhbook of Apuleius'
of thecommonera. The novel
GoldenAss, fromthesecondcentury
of
thattolda humorous
story
to
be
an
a
Greek
original
adaptation
seems
adventures
before
abouta manturnedintoan ass, and his subsequent
hishumanshape.The originalis nowlost,butan epitome
reassuming
addedto
survives
amongtheworksofLucian.Apuleiushas apparently
redemption
andinitiathisstorya finalbookdescribing
thecharacter's
from
tionintotheritesofIsis andOsiris.Thisfinalbookis so different
therestof thenovelin toneand topicthatreligiousscholars,likeJ.
ofa true
haveassumedthatitis a seriousrepresentation
GwynGriffiths,
tale.It is takenbythesescholarsto
tackedon to an immoral
experience
be an accuratesourcefordetailsaboutthereligionofIsis.32However,
noteveryone
agreesthattheendingis so seriousor thattherestofthe
novelis so immoral.Ingeniousattempts
to providea comprehensive
partshaveso
itstwodisparate
viewofthenovelthatwouldknittogether
farfailedtowinconsensus.
hasarguedthatthe
DanielSelden,however,
ofspeechknownas syllepsis,
bythefigure
genreofthenovelis typified
orders,
an insiswhichis characterized
bya yokingoftwoincompatible
tenceon "both"rather
thecharacThisis precisely
than"either/or."33
identified
as aniteristic
thatSeldenand Stephenshave subsequently
byGreek
Hellenistic
thereassociatedwiththeencounter
poetry,
mating
of
mentality.34
logic
of
Egyptian
Alexandria
with
the
both/and
poets
At thispoint,I wouldlike to quotepartof theconclusionof
42
Alif24 (2004)
towardsEgypt.He
Versluys'thorough
discussionofRomanattitudes
to thevisual
givesa morenuancedview of thesubjectby reference
culmaterialavailable,whichshowsthatEgyptplayedan important
towardcontempoturalrolein Rome.Thatis, despitetheiranimosity
withEgyptian
theRomanswereobviouslyfascinated
raryEgyptians,
realiaandreligion.He thencontinues:
In orderto letRomeremaintheidealcenteroftheworld,
tocounterbalance
therealso hadtobe negativeproperties
thesedominant[Egyptian]influences.Amongstothers
forthesereasonstheunreliability
is
of theAlexandrians
emphasizedand nottheculturalprestigeof thecity;the
Isis cultis associatedwithshadyamorouspracticesand
notwiththeimmensely
populargoddesswhoseNavigium
Isidisceremony
coincidedwiththeofficialopeningofthe
Romanshippingseason,etc. A similarreactioncan be
observedwithregardto theGreeksand Greekculture.
The conceptualization
of theGreeks,as reflected
in the
literarysources,is in generaldistinctively
negativeas
also madeto have their
well,and an attempt
is thereby
meritshavenothing
to do withcontemporary
Greeceand
theGreeksin theRomanreality.35
In turning
to the image of Egyptin the ancientnovels,it is
to remember
thewaythat,in negativestereotypes
important
perpetuatedby Romans,theGreeksoftenfindthemselves
lumpedtogether
withEgyptians
as "Orientals."
One ofthewaysthatRomansnegotiated theirown ambivalencetowardstheGreekswas to makea distinctionbetween"classical"Greeceand contemporary
Greece,thelatter
havingnone of the fameof theirancestors,a maneuverthatboth
Greeksand Romansfrequently
turnedagainstEgyptas well. It was
suggestedby Moses Hadas thattheancientnovel's origincould be
tracedtothedesireofmarginalized
ethnicandreligiousgroupstorepresentthemselves
in a morepositivelight,as an actofculturalresistanceto Romanpoliticalhegemony;36
andthishas beenadvancedas a
rationaleforliterary
developments
in therenaissanceof Greekletters
in theRomanperiod,theso-called"secondsophistic,"
theperiodthat
is contemporary
withtheflowering
of thenovel.37The extantGreek
novelsstudiously
avoidmakingreference
to theRomanpoliticalrealitiesoftheirownday.Theydo, however,makefrequent
reference
to
Alif24 (2004)
43
EgyptandPersia,which,likeGreece,arecultural
powersfromthepast
Is itpossibleto see a latentantithatarenowpolitically
marginalized.
of Egyptand
Romansentiment
expressedin thepeculiaralignment
Greecethatsometimesemergesin thenovels?Such an alignment
is
at
for
in
the
calumnies
directed
taken granted
"Alexandrians"
many
a variety
of
cataloguedby Reinhold,a termthatoftenlumpstogether
ethnicbackgrounds
in thismulticultural
It
is
in
this
city.38
perhaps
contextthatwe mustunderstand
in thenovelsof the
thepersistence
"herdsmen"of'the Delta region,infamousas politicalresistorsto
Romanhegemonyin thesecondcentury
of thecommonera. These
"herdsmen"
(boukoloi)seemto be a privileged
exampleof theinternotonlyof Greekand Egyptiansources,butalso of ficpenetration
tionaland historical
texts.39
it is no longerthought
thatthe
Although
novelgenrearosedirectly
fromEgyptianliterature,
themoremodest
claimthatcertaininterpenetrations
betweenGreekandEgyptian
literatureoccurredin themseemsmuchmoresecurelyestablished.
Andit
is perhapstheveryporousnessof thenovel"genre"itself(or "antigenre,"as Bakhtincalls it),itsabilityto absorbandjuxtaposeheterogeneouselementsin various"sylleptic"combinations,
thatmakesit
theprivileged
formforthisinterpenetration.
Egyptin theGreekNovels
I wouldliketoturnnowtotheGreeknovelsthatmakereference
to Egyptand explorein a preliminary
fashion,themetaphorical
resonancesthatEgypthas in them,in orderto see whatthoseresonances
cantellus abouttheliterary
aimsofourauthors.
ThefiveextantGreek
novelsspanthefirstto thethirdcenturies
of thecommonera. They
sharea handfulof basic characteristics,
includingheroeswho are
beautiful
andchasteyounglovers,separatedandreunited
at theendin
legitimate
marriage.40
The emphasison fidelity
andreciprocal
heterosexualloveis remarkable
andhas beenviewedas partofa shiftinculturalideals.41Despitethesesimilarities,
aspectsof plot amongthe
individualnovels,as well as tone and style,varywidely.Theories
abouttheoriginandpurposeofthegenrehavesometimes
focusedon
Egyptor on themystery
religionsof Egypt,buttheseideas havenot
gainedwideacceptance.42
Thenovelsdrawon a number
ofGreeknarrativetraditions-epic,drama,history-butit is theirheterogeneity
thatis paramount,
andtheproperpaternity
ofthenovelhasneverbeen
adequatelyidentified:
it mayevenbe thewrongquestionto be ask44
Alif24 (2004)
ing.43Exactlyhowortowhatextenttheycirculated
inantiquity
is also
a difficult
questionto answer;but earliertheoriesthattheywere a
"popular"literature
fornaiveaudiences(youthorwomen)havefound
no moreacceptancethanreligiousinterpretations.44
The novelshave
persistently
tomonolithic
provedimpervious
readingsoftheirpurposes, and thismultiplicity
and heterogeneity
is centralto myown view
of them.Of theextantnovelsLongus' Daphnisand Chloe does not
involvetravelandmakesno explicitreference
to Egypt.I willlookat
each of theotherfournovelsin turn.45
In general,it willbe seenthat
Egyptretainsan ambivalence
inthenovels:oftenthesiteofexcessive
crueltyand barbarism,
Egyptis also thesiteof religiouswisdomand
thatcan havea morepositivevaluation.It maybe, as Brioso
mystery
Sainchezhas argued,thatit is preciselythiscombination
of popular
interestin the wondersof Egypt and the shady reputations
of
Egyptians
themselves
thatmadeEgyptan attractive
locale forstories
ofadventure.46
In anycase,thepoliticalimpotence
ofEgyptinRoman
times,linkedwithitsrichcultural
createsa paralleltothesitheritage,
uationoftheGreeksthemselves,
forthe"Hellenizedbarparticularly
barians"whoauthored
thenovels.
M. Bakhtinspeaksoftheabstractness
ofspaceandtimeinthese
novelsinthefollowing
way:"All adventures
intheGreekromanceare
governedby an interchangeability
of space;whathappensin Babylon
couldjust as well happenin Egyptor Byzantium
and vice versa."47
Chariton'
s Chaereas and Callirhoe(ca. 1st C CE) is typicalof
Bakhtin'spoint.The storybeginsin Syracuseneartheendofthefifth
thentravelsto Miletusin Asia Minor,to thecapitalof the
century,
PersianempireinBabylon,thentoSyriaandEgypt.ThePersiansprove
tobe moredangerous
totheheroandheroinethantheEgyptians
inthis
story,
buttheyareall forthemostpartbasicallyHellenicintheirmannersand aspirations.
thereis no problemacknowledged
Certainly
for
Egyptians,
Greeksand Persiansin understanding
each other.48
At the
endofBook 7, the"innatefearofroyalty"
oftheEgyptian
guardis referencedas an assumption
thatGreekscouldmakeaboutEgyptians;
and
similarremarks
are madeabouttheservility
of Persiancharacters
as
well,so thereis an underlying
"Hellenicbias" in thenovel.Books6-7
recountan Egyptian
revoltagainstthePersianempire,whichthehero
Chaereasexploitsto regainhis wife fromhis rivalsDionysiusof
MiletusandtheGreatKingofPersia.Thisrevoltseemstodrawcertain
detailsfromseveralrealEgyptian
rebellions
in theclassicalperiod,in
someofwhichGreeksandEgyptians
werealliesagainstthePersians.49
Alif24 (2004)
45
These historical
parallelsmakeit seemnaturalfortheGreekheroto
side withtherebelliousEgyptiansagainstthe "tyrannical"
Persians.
Prominent
in theforcesled by Chaereasare the300 DorianGreeks,
who are clearlymeantto recall the 300 Spartanswho defended
Thermopylae
againstthe Persiansin the zenithof Greekpolitical
power.However,Chaereasalso leads the Egyptianfleetto victory
againstthe Persians,and theyreturnto Syracusewithhim and are
withparcelsofland.Romeis nota forceintheMediterranean
rewarded
attheputative
oftheactioninclassicalGreece,butnevertheless
setting
it is evokedindirectly
in severalways.D. R. Edwardshas arguedthat
s representation
Chariton'
ofAphrodite,
thepatrongoddessofhishome
cityAphrodisias,
as thedeity"whosepowerencompasseseven the
Romanempire"is a strategy
forasserting
thatcity'sprestigein the
Romanworld.50K. Haynessuggestsin theconclusionofherstudyof
thenovelthatthescenarioof a heroineresisting
force
overwhelming
toRomanhegemony,
expressesa resistance
sometimes
itselfexpressed
in sexualterms.51
iconographically
J.Alvareshas identified
a number
ofelements
inthenovel'scultural
andpoliticalsetting
thatwouldrecall
realitiesof theRomanempire.Thisdescription
of Persiansettings
by
meansofRomandetail"wouldhaveencouraged
readers
some
tosee in
theeventsnarrated
a meaningful
byChariton
on Romancommentary
era conditions."52
Alvarescalls attention
to the phrasewithwhich
Chaereasintroduces
himself
to theEgyptian
kingas an especiallyresonantmoment
(7.2.4): "ThePersianKinghas tyrannized
metoo."It is
unlikely
thatChariton
has a primarily
politicalagendainthisstory;but
atthesametimehischoicetomakea sudden,ifonlypartially
successful,revoltbyEgyptians
againstan oppressive"evilempire"centralto
theresolution
ofhislove storycouldindicatea certainenthusiasm
for
the discomfort
of contemporary
rulingpowers.Even thoughthe
Egyptian
revoltfails,theGreekherogetsthebetter
oftheGreatKing
inpartbystrategically
sidingwithhis"enemy'senemy."
Unlike Chariton,Xenophonof Ephesus makes no effortto
anchorthesetting
ofhisnovel,AnEphesianTale,inanyparticular
time
frame,
therearesomeindirect
although
references
to theauthor'scontemporary
worldofthesecondcentury
Romanempire.53
The geographyof thenovelis rather
vagueand abstract,
predicated
on theneeds
of thestoryratherthanany strongdesireforauthenticity
in details,
theauthor'sknowledge
although
ofthedeltaregionis quiteaccurate.54
Thereareseveralepisodesinbooks4-5 thattakeplaceinEgypt,andit
is easy to see whytheyhave inspiredreligiousinterpretations
of the
46
Alif24 (2004)
novel.The heroHabrocomesis crucified

twice,buteach timehe is
savedby thegods of Egypt,who are calledphilanthromiraculously
potatos,"mostgenerousto men" (Eph. 4.2.4; 5.4.10). The heroine,
withwilddogs,butsurvivesthis
is buriedalive together
meanwhile,
ordealas well.55Equallysignificant
is theaccountofan important
secondaryfigure,
whois a manofmeanscompelledtoturnto
Hippothous,
a lifeof crimeas theresultof a disastrous
love affair.Although
his
actionsin thestoryarethoroughly
he is associatedwith
discreditable,
the hero,who joins his band temporarily
at one point.Moreover,
Hippothousis redeemedat theend of thenovelas partof thehappy
ending;andtherefore,
unliketheheroandheroine,
he is transformed
by
hisexperiences
in thenovel.His brigandcareertakeshimall theway
toupperEgypt,whereitis specified
thathe andhismenoperateoutof
caves. Aftera numberof adventures,
HippothousfinallyfleesEgypt
and givesup his brigandways,and it is tempting
to see his Egyptian
careeras a kindof symbolicdeathandresurrection
parallelto thatof
theheroes'moreliteralbrusheswithdeath:"Hippothous
descendsinto
cavesas though
intotherealmofthemostdreadful
abjectionanddeath,
finally
emerging
fromthismoralandsocialdegradation
toreenter
societyand legalityand to takeup a new livingstandard."56
Again,the
novelis notprimarily
a religioustext,anymore
thanChariton's
is primarilya politicalone;butEgyptis emerging
as a potentmetaphorical
elementthatcan be deployedwithcomplexresonances.
This is certainly
thecase withthemostpeculiarfigurein the
whole story:thefisherman,
Aigialeus.He is a Spartanexile and a
man whose storyof mutualand reciprocalpassion for his wife,
Thelxinoe,is also a parallelof sortsto theheroand heroine.After
fallingmadlyin love and escapingSpartatogether
in orderto flee
social censureof theirpassion,theylivedtogether
poorly,buthappily,in exile in Sicily.Now yearslater,he has preservedhis dead
wife "in the Egyptianmanner,"(etethaptotapheiAigyptiai)and
"continuesto speakwithherand lie downwithher[!], and sees her
as she used to be" (Ephesiaca 5. 1.10-11). This scenelinksEgyptian
mummification
withnecrophilia,
a linkthatgoes all thewaybackto
Herodotus,and is one of thepracticesthatquintessentially
differentiates the Egyptians from Greeks and Romans. However,
Habrocomes'reactionis somewhatsurprising:
He sees Aigialeusas
an inspiring
exampleof love thattranscends
deathand it spurshim
on to continueseekingAnthia:
Alif24 (2004)
47
Anthia,whenwillI everfindyou,evenas a corpse?The

body of Thelxinoeis a greatcomfortin the life of
Aigialeus,and now I have reallylearnedthattruelove
knowsno age limits.(Eph. 5.1.12)
Habrocomesseemsto be especiallycapableof whatStephens
calls "seeingdouble,"able to see not onlya Greekperspective,
in
whichbodiesareforburying
or burning,
notforpreserving
orhaving
sex with,butalso an Egyptian
in whichmummification
is
perspective,
a preoccupation
notwithdeath,buta celebration
of life.In a reciprocal gesturea fewpageslater,AnthiapraystoIsis inMemphiseitherto
restore
hertoHabrocomesortomakeher"faithful
tohiscorpse"(Eph.
5.3.4: sophronousantoi nekroi).Once again an Egyptiancontext
soundsthethemeofpermanent
mutualfidelity
thatDavid Konstanhas
argued is so centralto this novel.57Alongsideotherstrategies
thisdifference,
Xenophonemploysto articulate
we can add theintroductionof this"Egyptianized
Spartan"livingin Sicily,whosepracticescan be readbothas excessiveandutopian.
ThemiddlesectionofthenovelofAchillesTatius,Leucippeand
takesplaceintheDeltaregionofEgypt,atPelusionandthen
Clitophon,
Alexandria.
Achillesalso avoidsmention
oftheRomansandevokesa
HellenizedMediterranean
world.AchillesTatiusis remarkable
forthe
largenumberof descriptive
passageshe includeson thewondersof
Egypt(phoenix,theNile,crocodiles,
etc.),in whatseemto be digressionsunrelated
tothecourseofthestory.
Plazenethas arguedthatthese
mustbe understood
in termsof therhetorical
descriptions
tradition
of
so thattheyprovidea meansforAchillesTatiusto forcommonplaces,
mulatea critical
discourse
onthewriting
offiction.58
Plazenet's reading
of thesescenesremindsus of thedegreeto whichEgyptis, forboth
RomansandGreeks,a placeoftheimagination,
a literary
topos,despite
theincreaseinrealknowledge
abouttheplacefromtravel.
In thestory,
thetwoyoungloversfleeto Egyptfromtheirparentsin Tyre,together
withtwoothercharacters,
one of whosetragic
gay love storyhas beenrecounted
in thefirstpartof thebook.They
encounter
in theirtravelsan Egyptiancharacter,
Menelaus,who is
in
the
Egyptianonly
lightest
sense.He tellshis own tragicgay love
whichled to theexilefromwhichhe is nowreturning
story,
to Egypt
after
threeyears.His namecannotbutrecallhisfamousHomericnamesake and his episodein Egypt,wherehe acquired,dependingon the
account,eithersecretknowledge
orhiswifeback.In a discourseon the
48
Alif24 (2004)
relativemeritsof love objects,the novelisticMenelausvigorously

defendstheloveofboysagainstthelove ofwomen,wherein
he shows
himselfto be well-versed
in Greekphilosophical
discussionsof the
subject.59
Genericconsiderations
onceagainmakeitdifficult
to attach
too muchseriousness
to thisscene,butsomeironiesemergewhenthe
sceneis considered
in thecontextofGreekEgyptology.
Menelausthe
Egyptian
defendsa supposedly
moretraditional
formoflove,whichis,
somewhatsurprisingly,
claimed to be somethingmore current
(Leucippeand Clitophon
2.35.2:epichoiraze
thenumernun),recalling
ous reversals
in relativechronology
ofEgyptian
andGreekculture.
At
thesametime,thepassagesuggestshow Egypthas comemetaphoricallyto represent
an interior
space,so thata tripto Egyptcan be seen
as an encounter
witha priorintellectual
tradition.
The twosidesofthe
debatearecertainly
bothpartsofa Greekdiscourseon love,butthefact
thatone sideis giventoan Egyptian
givesa kindofspatialandtemporaldimension
tothedebate.I wouldliketoconnectthatpossibility
with
the dramaticscene at the beginningof Book 5, wherethe cityof
Alexandria
unfoldsbeforetheeyesof Clitophon
in a remarkable
adynatonthattome clearlysuggestsan innerjourneyofsorts:
Thebeautyofthecitystruck
melikea flashoflightening.
The thingsto see outstripped
my sight;the prospects
luredme on. Crossingthecitycenteris sucha longjourneythatyouwouldthinkyouweregoingabroadthough
youwerestaying
home(endemosapodemia).60
Thislastexpression,
endemosapodemia,juxtaposesand fuses"being
at home"and "beingabroad"in a way thatrecallsFreud'snotionof
the "uncanny"(Unheimlich).Its occurrencehere in a passage of
heightened
emotionaleffusion
indeedsuggeststhe"strangely
familiar" sensationproduced,in Freud'saccount,by an encounter
witha
former
aspectof theselfthathas been estranged
by repression.
This
of Egyptas an interior
portrayal
space is particularly
relevantin the
case ofAlexandria,
thekeypointat whichtheGreekworldpenetrated
thebodyof Egyptpolitically,
sociallyand religiously.
At the same
time,itrecallsother"uncanny"
tripstoEgypt,suchas thatof Solonin
theTimaeus,whodiscoverstherelong-forgotten
information
aboutthe
pastof his city.Legendarytraditions
aboutGreekwise mengoingto
Egyptproducea tendency
to makeEgypta metaphor
foran interior
journeytothissiteofreligiouswisdom;butliteraltripsintothedeserts
Alif24 (2004)
49
of Egyptby the holy men of late antiquitywill also make this

metaphor
moreconcrete.61
Finally,mention
mustbe madeof theroleof theboukoloi,the
of theDelta region,in thethirdbook of thenovel.Their
"herdsmen"
appearanceand violentactionsagainsttheheroineherearefilledwith
human
andseditious
aboutxenophobic
stereotypes
Egyptians,
including
to clarify
therelationship
between
sacrifice
andcannibalism.
Attempts
of historical,
or supposedly
histhesefictional
herdsmen
anda variety
in
a
of
the
Delta
have
shown
cominstances brigandage
torical,
regions,
A famousrevoltby Egyptian
plex interpenetration
of factand fiction.
ofthecommonerais reported
boukoloiinthesecondcentury
byCassius
resemblances
Dio (RomanHistory72.4), whoseaccountbearsstriking
fromthe
to thescenein AchillesTatiusand to a substantial
fragment
Phoinikaka
ofLollianus.It is likelythattheEgyptophobe
CassiusDio
spicedup hisaccountwithsometypicalslanderfromtheworldoffiction.Buttheexistence
ofdemoticmaterial,
whichalso involves"herdsmen"revolting
andwhichseemstobe anexamagainstcentral
authority
If
ple of Egyptiannationalist
propaganda,
complicatesthepicture.62
CassiusDio borrowed
material
froma Greektradition
to spiceup his
theactualrebelsin thesecondcentury
have
done
story,
may
something
intheirownnativetradition
similarinordertosetthemselves
ofheroes.
This meansthatthenovelisticrepresentations
of theboukoloimight
requirea "bicultural"interpretation,
as Rutherford
has shown.In
AchillesTatius,MenelaustheEgyptian,
whocan speakbothGreekand
Egyptian,
whocan becomeinitiated
as a boukolosandwhoalso knows
howtomanipulate
theequipment
ofa Homericrhapsode,
is theonewho
managestheheroine'sescapefromtheherdsmen.
Iftheboukoloiinthis
novelareportrayed
negatively
forthemostpart,theculturally
diverse
Menelausis a farmoreattractive
character
thanhisHomericnamesake,
to Herodotus,
who,according
reallydoes engagein humansacrifice
in
ordertoeffect
hisescapefromEgypt.
The final textI would like to consideris Heliodorus'An
EthiopianTale. Mostof thisnoveltakesplace in Egyptand theparts
thattakeplace in Greeceare narrated
in flashbackstylefromwithin
so
that
this
is themostEgyptian
Egypt,
ofall thenovels.63The fictive
dateof thestoryis sometime
duringthePersianoccupationofEgypt;
theopeninglocale ofthestoryis preciselyidentified
as thesiteofthe
futureAlexandria.In the courseof the novel,two beautifulyoung
lovers,Charikleia
andTheagenes,travelfromGreecethrough
Egyptto
Ethiopia,wheretheyaremarriedand installedas therightful
heirsto
50
Alif24 (2004)
thethrone.
Two Egyptian
characters,
Kalisiris,a priestfromMemphis,
and his son Thyamis,who is theleaderof a groupof bandits,play
major supporting
roles, along with an Athenianyouth,Knemon,
whoseownunhappystoryis toldin thenovel.Once againwe have a
bandof desperadoes,
recognizableas theboukoloiof AchillesTatius
andothersources.The PersianEmpireis thecentralauthority
against
their
occasional
success
in
and
whomtheyfight Heliodorus,
against
the Persians,who are destinedto be thrownout of Egyptby the
Greeks,createsa vague politicalalignmentbetweenGreeksand
as well.Thenovel
andlaterbetweenGreeksandEthiopians
Egyptians,
thusposes a spatialdevaluationof the centerforthe peripherycentralPersiansor evenAthens,reprewhether
thatis thepolitically
sentedin thenovelbyKnemonandhisfamilyromance-whichgives
a rather
negativeviewofAthensanditsinstitutions.64
of Thyamisand his EgyptianbanHeliodorus'initialportrayal
ditsin Book 1 alludesto a numberof stereotypes
aboutEgyptians:
Charikleia'sbeautyvanquishesthebrigandheartofThyamis,
proving
thatnobilityof appearancetriumphsover even the "harshestof
natures"(Aithiopika1.4.3). Charikleiaalso chides Theagenesfor
theabsurdnotionthatshe mightprefera "barbarian
to a
entertaining
Greek"(Aith.1.25.5); laterin Book 1, the authornotesthatonce
embarked
on a courseofaction,"theheartofa savagebrooksno turnloses all hope of his ownpreservaingback"; and whena barbarian
he loves beforehe dies" (Aith.
tion,"he will usuallykill everything
1.30.6),thisagainin reference
to theEgyptianThyamis.I catalogue
thesesententiae
onlybecauseinthecourseofthenovel,thereis a reapwhobecomealliesofthe
praisalofThyamisandhisEgyptian
friends,
GreekheroesagainstthePersians.65
Andas theEgyptians
inthestory
becomerehabilitated,
thePersians,
thedegenerate
particularly
sisterof
theGreatKinghimself,
emergeas therealenemiesofeverything
good
and truein the world.This discoverythatthe "other"is reallythe
"same" in disguisehas parallelsin othercontextswhereit servesto
articulatenew alliancesthatmustbe redrawndue to shifting
positions.66
WhereasinChariton,
theEgyptians
aresettledinGreeceatthe
end of the story,in theAithiopika,
KnemontheAtheniansettlesin
Egypt,andtheGreekheroTheagenessettlesinEthiopia.It is possible
to see in this "decentering"
a reflection
of resistanceagainstthe
Roman"center,"even thoughthefictivedate of the storypredates
Rome'spreeminence
bymanycenturies.
In addition,
in another
reversal of therelativeculturaldependenceof Greeceand Egypt,Homer,
Alif24 (2004)
51
inGreekculture,
thatcentralfigure
is repatriated
toEgyptbyKalisiris'
accountof his origins.He makes the assertionthatHomeris an
thesonofan Egyptian
butactuallytheson
Egyptian,
ostensibly
priest,
of Hermeshimself(Aith.3.14.1-4).KnemontheAthenianfindsthe
idea quiteacceptable,based on Homer's"typically
Egyptiancombiin his poetry"
nationof concealedmeaningsand sheerenjoyment
that this "typically
(Aith. 3.15.1). G. Sandy has demonstrated
Egyptian"idea is closely connectedto contemporary
Neoplatonic
a regularassertion
ideas.67It also reflects
byGreekintellectuals,
espewisdomis olderandprofounder.68
ciallyinthislaterperiod:barbarian
Also noteworthy
is thewaythatthepriestof Isis Kalisirisis a
figureforthenarrator
himself.
of
Morgannotesthat"theperformance
of thewholenovel,intensely
Kalisirisis in manywaysemblematic
.... He is botha solver
self-aware,
theatrical,
manipulative,
enigmatic
and setterof riddles."69
Winkler'sassessment
of Kalisirisas a figure
of theauthorfocuseson thewayhe "goes withtheflow"and allows
to characters
whoviothingsto emergein theirowntime,in contrast
lentlyimposetheirown meaninguponevents.70
Clearlywe have in
thefigureof Kalisirisa morepositivevaluationof certainaspectsof
The stereotypes
"Egyptianness."
of Egyptiansas passiveand crafty
becomerefigured
in thecharacter
of Kalisirisas an essentialcomponentofhisbarbarian
wisdom,a wisdomwhichcan bringabouta successfulconclusionto theeventsin thestory,even againsttheoverforcesofcorrupt
whelming
centralauthority.71
The superiority
of Kalisirisis foregrounded
in theinteraction
betweenhimand Knemonduringtheformer's
longflashbacknarrative.The naive Knemon'slack of aestheticdistanceand insatiable
appetiteforromanceis severaltimesnoted.He repeatedly
interrupts
Kalisiris,askingforelaborations
on partsof thestorythatthepriest
deemsirrelevant;
he identifies
withthecharacters
in thestoryso completelythathisemotions
riseandfallwiththeirfortunes,
exclaiming
at
one pointthatKalisiris'narrative
had madethesceneso realthathe
he actuallysaw thetwoheroesin theflesh.Knemon'scomic
thought
outbursts
confirmto Kalisiristhathe is a trueAthenian,intensely
in incidentalspectacle(Aith.3.1.2) Knemoninsiststhat
interested
Kalisiriscontinuethestorydeep intothenight,statingthattherecan
neverbe enoughoflove,eitherinitsexperience
orinthetelling(Aith.
4.4.3). These barbsat Knemon,the representative
Athenianin the
story,shouldbe comparedto thereactionsof theDelphicGreeksto
Kalisiris'appearancethere:Theyaskhimquestionsaboutthewonders
52
Alif24 (2004)
of Egypt,for"Greeksfindall Egyptianlore and legendirresistible"

(Aith.2.27.3). In contrast,afterseekingand hearingan account of the
usualwondersofEgypt,theEthiopiankingHydaspesis unimpressed
andassertsthatall thesesupposedEgyptian
wondersareactuallywondersofEthiopia,wheretheNile has itsorigin(Aith.9.22.7).72
Therearealso severalinstancesof a contrast
madeby Kalisiris
betweentruecelestialEgyptianwisdomand thebase magicwhich
Egyptians
arecommonly
assertedto have,againat theexpenseofthe
Greekcharacters
in the story.73
WhentheEgyptianThyamishas a
in which
dream,theauthorclearlycondemnshis interpretive
attempt
he "forcedtheinterpretation
to conform
withhis own desires"(Aith.
1.18.5). But a similarcriticismis voiced by Kalisiris when he
describestheDelphians'attempts
toextract
themeaningoftheoracle,
"eachunderstanding
itin a sensethatmatchedhis ownwishes"(Aith.
2.36.1). Similarly,
an old croneattheendofBook 6 usesherEgyptian
magictoforceinformation
fromthebodyofherdeadsonandis roundly condemnedby Kalisirisforpracticing
thisbase formof Egyptian
wisdom.Butitis precisely
thisbaserEgyptian
magicthattheheroine's
adoptivefather,
Charikles,and thelovestruck
hero,Theagenes,each
requestKalisiristo use in orderto enacttheirdesiresfortheheroine.
It is thissameCharikles,
a priestof Delphi,who showsup at theend
ofthestory,accusingthenowdead Kalisirisofbeinga charlatan
and
demandingsatisfactionfromTheagenesfor his daughter'stheft.
Heliodorusthusgoes out of his way to set up thisconfrontation
betweenthepriestsofDelphiandIsis,so thatChariklesis able to find
outthatKalisiriswas a holyman,nota charlatan,
thathe was theone
assistingthefulfillment
of thegods' plans,againsttheinappropriate
privatedesignsoftheDelphicpriest.
Finally,it is important
to notethewaythatHeliodorus,via his
Egyptianinternal
narrator
Kalisiris,assimilatestheHomerictradition
tohisnovel.As we areintroduced
toKalisirisandhisstoryinBook 2,
thereare numerousexplicitreferencesto Homer,particularly
the
Scherianepisodeof Odysseus.Kalisirishimselfseemsto be occupying thepositionof Odysseustellinghis story,forexample,whenhe
quotesdirectly
theopeninglinesofOdysseus'ownflashback
narrative
(Aith.2.21.5; cf.Od. 9.39). AndtheirgeneroushostNausikles,whois
scrupulousin respectingZeus the god of guests and suppliants,
remindsus of thegood hostAlcinous-his nameevenrecallsthatof
the Scherianking's daughter,Nausikaa. But at the same time
Nausiklesis characterized
as a wanderer
whohas "visitedmanycities
Alif24 (2004)
53
andseenintotheheartsandmindsofmanypeople"(Aith.2.22.3) in a
reminiscenceof the opening verses of the Odyssey.Charikleia
butitis also
rusestoholdoffunwanted
employsPenelope-like
suitors,
shewhodonsa disguiseandwitnessesa necromancy
scene,recalling
fromOdyssey11 and 13. Andyet
famousepisodesoftheherohimself
woundon his thighfroma boar
it is Theageneswhohas a distinctive
huntsimilarto Odysseus' (Aith.5.5.2). Moreover,beforemeeting
Kalisiris,KnemontheAtheniancovershimselfin leavesin themannerofOdysseusjustbeforehisepisodeinScheria(Aith.2.20.3;cf.Od.
theOdysseyis
5. 481-3). Despitethedensityof Homericreferences,
in an inconsistent
thatit is no
evokedas an intertext
way,indicating
moreof a cleffordecodingthemeaningof thenovelthanthephilosophicalideas aboutEgyptianwisdomanalyzedby Sandy.
KnemoncomparesKalisiristo theHomericProteusof Pharos:
"So farI havefoundyoujustlikeProteusofPharos,notthatyoutake
on falseandshifting
formsas he did,butyouareforever
tolead
trying
me in thewrongdirection"
to thewise
(Aith.2.24.4). This reference
old manofthesea whomlegendsaysinhabitsthewaternearthesettingofthenovel,seemslikea perfect
figureforKalisiris.Butwe perhaps hear also an echo of Herodotus'Proteus,the good king of
Helenuntilherrightful
husbandcan.comefor
Memphiswhoprotects
her.Thereis a kindofuncanniness
inthewaytheseallusionsworkin
thetext,suggesting
provocative
connections
thatare notfullydevelin
the
course
of
thenovelandthushavetheappearanceofinteroped
pretivedead ends.Indeed,Heliodorushimselfis a slippery
figurelike
Proteus.Insofaras it is characteristic
of thenovelto introduce
multiple and shifting
perspectives
whichare oftenresistant
to monolithic
readingsof themeaningof thework,theidea of a secretcoherence
theentireworkis something
underlying
thatmustbe alludedto periodically,by gesturesthatpromisean ultimate
illumination
to comeif
we just keep reading,so thatreadingbecomesa kindof wrestling
matchwitha Proteus-like
figure.When we get to the end of the
Aithiopika,
thereare a lot of fireworks
and epiphanies,butnothing
reallythatcouldaccountfortheelaboratejourneywe havetaken;for
it is notthearriving,
butthejourneyitselfthatis important.
It is in
thiswaythatEgyptis centralto thisnovel:itis neither
thebeginning
northeend,butthein-between
land,theland of exile and resurrection,theland of age-oldwisdomas well as charlatans,
theland of
twistsand turnsofplotandfate.Egyptin thisnovelreflects
theconof Egyptthatwas destinedto dominateEuropefrom
ceptualization
54
Alif24 (2004)
theend of antiquity
on: a mystery
alwaysto be ponderedand never
itselfas a pretext
forcontemplation
solved,butcontinuously
offering
and self-examination.74
Notes
*
A versionof this article was presentedat the second Rethymnon

International
Conference
on theAncientNovelinCreteinMay,2003.My
thanksto theconference
andparticipants
fortheirusefulsugorganizers
gestions,as well as to mycolleagueDenise McCoskeyand theanonymousreferees
ofAlif.It is also a pleasureforme to honorwiththiscontribution
myformer
colleagueat AUC, Doris Shoukri.
1 C. Froidefond,
Le miragee'gyptien
dans la litterature
grecqued'Homerea
Aristote
(Aix en Provences:Ophrys,1971).
2 EdwardSaid,Orientalism
(New York:Pantheon
Books,1978); Cultureand
Imperialism
(New York:A.A. Knopf,1993).
3 M. Bernal,BlackAthena:TheAfroasiatic
RootsofClassicalCivilization
(New
Brunswick:
Rutgers
UP, 1987-1991);MaryR. Lefkowitz
andG. M. Rogers
eds. Black AthenaRevisited(Chapel Hill: University
of NorthCarolina
Press,1996); J.Berlinerblau,
Heresyin theUniversity:
theBlackAthena
and the Responsibilities
Controversy
of AmericanIntellectuals(New
Brunswick:
Rutgers
UP, 1999);DavidMoore,ed.,BlackAthenaWrites
Back
(Durham:Duke UP, 2001). See also theintroduction
to theArabictranslationof BlackAthenaby AhmedEtmanin Atinaal-sawda',trans.Lutfi
Abdul-Wahab
etal. (Cairo:SupremeCouncilofCulture,
1998),13-71.
4 This sketchreliesmainlyon thefollowingrecentdiscussions:P. Vasunia,
The GiftoftheNile (Berkeley:University
of California
Press,2000); M.
J. Versluys,AegyptiacaRomana (Leiden: Brill, 2000); S. Stephens,
SeeingDouble (Berkeley:University
ofCalifornia
Press,2003),eachwith
comprehensive
bibliographies,
becausetheydovetailespeciallywellwith
my interestsin the novels. OtherexcellentshortaccountsincludeF.
Hartog,"TheGreeksas Egyptologists,"
ed. ThomasHarrison,
Greeksand
Barbarians(New York:Routledge,2002), 211-28;S. Burstein,
"Images
of Egyptin GreekHistoriography,"
ed. A. Lopriero,AncientEgyptian
Literature(Leiden: Brill. 1996), 591-604; K. A. D. Smelikand E. A.
"'Who KnowsWhatMonstersDementedEgyptWorships?'
Hemelrijk,
Opinionson Egyptian
AnimalWorshipinAntiquity
as PartoftheAncient
Conceptionof Egypt,"ANR 11 17.4 (1984): 1852-2000;C. W. Muller,
undEigenfahrung,"
"Fremderfahrung
Philologus114 (1997): 200-14;M.
FutrePinheiro,
"A Atraccbo
peloEgiptona Literatura
Grega,"Humanitas
Alif24 (2004)
55
47 (1995): 441-68. Thereare otherworkson thesubjectthathave not

beenavailableto me,including
a dissertation
at theUniversity
ofAthens
on theimageofEgyptin Greektragedy
byTariqRadwan(1997).
5 S. Burstein,"Hecataeus,Herodotusand theBirthof GreekEgyptology,"
Graeco-Africana:
Studiesin theHistoryof GreekRelationswithEgypt
and Nubia (New Rochelle:A.D. Caratzas,1994),3-17.
6 A. B. Lloyd,Herodotus,
BookII (Leiden:Brill,1975-1988);thequoteis from
A. B. Lloyd,"Herodotus'
AccountofPharoanic
Historia37 (1988):
Egypt,"
52. For a moredialecticalview of the interactions
betweenGreekand
Egyptian
intellectual
seeI. A. Moyer,"Herodotus
traditions,
andanEgyptian
Mirage:TheGenealogies
oftheThebanPriests,"
JHS 122(2002): 70-90.
7 Herodotus,
Histories,2. 35. See Hartog,TheMirrorofHerodotus,trans.
JanetLloyd(Berkeley:University
ofCalifornia
Press,1988).
8 Hartog,Mirror,p. 224.
9 SmelikandHemelrijk,
"'Who KnowsWhatMonsters,"'1864-69.
10Vasunia,Gift,75-109.
11VasuniaGift,110-35.
12Vasunia,Gift,33-74.
13See M. C. Miller,"TheMythofBousiris:Ethnicity
andArt,"ed. B. Cohen,
Not the Classical Ideal: Athensand the Construction
of the Otherin
GreekArt(Leiden:Brill,2000),413-42.
14j. J.Winkler,
"LollianosandtheDesperadoes,"JHS 100 (1980): 177-80.
15Isocrates,Busiris17. See Vasunia,Gift,183-215.
16Phaedrus274c-275b,discussedbyVasunia,Gift,146-60.
17 Burstein,"Imagesof Egypt,"600-01. See D. Mendels,"The Polemical
Character
of Manetho'sAegyptiaca,"
eds. H. Verdinet al., Purposesof
History(Leuven:n. p., 1990),91-110.
18Burstein,
"ImagesofEgypt,"598-99.
19S. Stephens,
SeeingDouble: Intercultural
PoeticsinPtolemaicAlexandria
(Berkely:University
of CaliforniaPress,2003). Cf. D. Selden,"Alibis,"
ClassicalAntiquity
17.2(October,1998):290-412;J.D. Reed,"Arsinoe's
Adonisand thePoeticsof PtolemaicImperialism,"
Transactions
of the
AmericanPhilologicalAssociation130 (2000): 319-51.
20 lo, whojourneyedto Egyptin theformof a cow, was identified
quickly
withHathor/Isis,
whowas oftendepictedas a cow.
21 Stephens,
SeeingDouble,72.
22 D. Konstan,SexualSymmetry
(Princeton:
Princeton
UP, 1994).
23 See 0. F. Riad,"Theocrite
entrele Sicilieetl'Egypte,"eds.G. P. Carratelli
etal.,Romae l'Egittonell'antichitai
classica (Roma:Istituto
poligrafico
e
Zecca delloStato,1992),305-15.
56
Alif24 (2004)
24 Besides thecomprehensive
studyof Versluyson RomanEgyptcitedin
note4 above, see the two collectionsof essays fromtheInternational
Congresseson Italy and Egypt:Carratelli,G. P. et al., eds., Roma e
V'Egitto
nell'antichitca
classica (Roma: Istituto
e Zecca dello
poligrafico
Stato,1992); and N. Bonacasa,et al., eds.,L'Egittoin Italia: dall'antichitaal Medioevo(Roma: Consiglionazionaledelle ricerche,1998). A
senseof thewide rangeof evidencethatis adducedto illuminating
the
complexrelationship
betweenRome and Egyptcan be gleanedfromthe
followingselectionofcontributions:
In Romae l'Egitto:F. Abou-Bakr,
"The EgyptianTestament
andRoman
Law," 19-25;Al-HusseinAbouel-Atta,"HeraclesofAlexandria,"
27-39;
Abdoullatif
A. Aly,"CleopatraandCaesarat Alexandria
andRome,"4761; F. H. El-Kadi,"The 'Cives Romani'inEgypt,"123-39(inArabic);H.
El-Sheikh,"Roman Expeditionsto the Upper Nile," 157-60; M. A.
Ibrahim,"The WesternDesertof Egyptin theClassicalWritings
of the
Roman Era," 209-17; M. H. Ibrahim,"Educationof Latin in Roman
Egypt,"2 19-26;M. Manfredi,
"The Influenceof Egypton Rome in the
Literary
Field,"253-58.
In L'EgittoinItalia: A. Abou-Aly,"RufusofEphesusandEgypt,"15-22;
E. Mohamed Ahmed,"La medicinaegizia nella culturae nell'arte
romana,"127-34; L. A. W. Yehya, "Clementof Alexandriaversus
Rome,"167-74;0. Fayez Riad,"Le theatre
hellenistique
'a Rome,"25562; M. G. Mokhtar,"Rome in Sinai,"303-06; N. Tayea Hussein,"The
RelationbetweenEgyptandRomethrough
theAncientRomanLampsin
theGraeco-Roman
Museumof Alexandria,"521-24; H. Abou el Atta,
"The Doctrineof Curabilityin Roman Alexandria,"537-46; Y. el
"TheCultsofAlexandria,"
Gheriani,
603-10;S. R. Redwan,"L'arrivodel
cultodi Isideed Osiridea Roma,"645-52.
25 M. Reinhold,"RomanAttitudes
TowardEgyptians,"
AncientWorld3
(1980): 100.A morepositiveviewofRomanruleis givenby S. A. Bari,
"EconomicInterests
ofAugustanRomein Egypt,"eds. G. P. Carratelli
et
al., Romae l'Egittonell'antichita
classica,69-76.
26 See AhmedEtman,"CleopatraandEgyptintheAugustan
Poetry,"
eds. G.
P. Carratelli
et al.,Romae l'Egittonell'antichitai
classica, 161-75.
27 Negativestatements
by otherRomanauthorsincludePropertius,
Elegies
3.11; Vergil,Aen. 8.696-700;Ovid,Metamorphoses
15.826-31;Lucan,
CivilWar8.542-44.
28 Reinhold,"Roman Attitudes,"100. See M. Giusto, "Connotazioni
dell'Egittonegliautorilatini,"eds. G. P. Carratelli
et al., Romae V'Egitto
nell'antichiti
classica,261-64.
Alif24 (2004)
57
29 Hartog,"The Greeks,"224.
30 Burstein,
"Images,"601-04;Hartog,"The Greeks,"226-28.See especiallyfragment
10 on thelivesoftheEgyptian
priestsin P. W. vanderHorst,
ed. Chaeremon(Leiden:Brill,1987).
31 Hartog,"The Greeks,"226.
32 J.GwynGriffiths,
TheIsis-bookofApuleius(Leiden:Brill,1975). There
in thefirstsenarereferences
to Egyptelsewherein thenovel,beginning
the work as "papyrumAegyptiamargutia
tence,which characterizes
Niloticicalamiinscriptam"
(Egyptianpaperinscribedwiththesharpness
of a Niloticpen).
33D. Selden,"TheGenreofGenre,"ed. J.Tatum,TheSearchfortheAncient
Novel(Baltimore:JohnsHopkinsUP, 1994),39-64.
34 Selden,"Alibis."See also I. Rutherford,
"The GenealogyoftheBoukoloi:
an EgyptianNarrative-Motif."
JHS
How GreekLiterature
Appropriated
120 (2000): 116-18.
35 Versluys,
Aegyptiaca,
440.
36 M. Hadas. "CulturalSurvivaland theOriginof Fiction."SouthAtlantic
Quarterly51 (1952): 253-60. Cf. S. West, "Josephand Asenath:A
NeglectedGreekRomance."CQ 68 (1974): 70-81.
37 E. L. Bowie,"Greeksand TheirPast in theSecondSophistic,"Past and
Present46 (1970): 3-4; B. Reardon,"The Second Sophisticand the
Novel," ed. G. Bowersock,Approaches to the Second Sophistic
(University
Park,PA: AmericanPhilologicalAssociation,1974),23-29;
S. Swain,HellenismandEmpire:Language,Classicism,andPowerinthe
Greek World,AD 50-250 (Oxford:OxfordUP, 1996), 101-34. E.
Finkelpearl,
Metamorphosis
and Language in Apuleius.(Ann Arbor:
of MichiganPress, 1998), discussesexamplesof Apuileius
University
Romanstoriesfroma "north
African"perspective.
rewriting
38 Foranti-Roman
sentiment
in theso-calledActsofthePagan Martyrs,
see
H. A. Musurillo,
ed.ActaAlexandrinorum
(New York:ArnoPress,1979),
256-58.
39 J.J.Winkler,"Lollianos,"155-81; B. C. McGing,"Bandits,Real and
Imagined,in Greco-RomanEgypt." BASP 35 (1998): 159-83; I.
Rutherford,
"Boukoloi,"JHS 120 (2000): 106-21;R. Alston,"TheRevolt
of the Boukoloi,"ed. K. Hopwood, OrganizedCrime in Antiquity
(London:Duckworth,
1999), 129-53.
40 A goodoverviewbothofthetextsthemselves
andthecriticalissuesraised
by themcan be foundin G. Schmeling,ed., The Novel in theAncient
World(Leiden:Brill,1996).Englishtranslations
ofall majortextscan be
foundin B. Reardon,CollectedAncientGreekRomances(Berkeley:
58
Alif24 (2004)
ofCalifornia
University
Press,1989).
The fragments
are collectedand translatedin S. Stephensand J. J.
Winkler,eds., Ancient Greek Novels: The Fragments(Princeton:
Princeton
UP, 1995).
41 M. Foucault,The Care of theSelf,trans.R. Hurley(New York:Vintage
Books,1986); D. Konstan,SexualSymmetry.
42 Religiousorigin:R. Merkelbach,
Romanund Mysterium
in der Antike
(Munich:Beck, 1962),restatedwithoutapologyin R. Merkelbach,
Isis
Regina- Zeus Sarapis (Stuttgart:
Teubner,1995). The view is critiqued
by, among others,R. Beck, "MysteryReligions,Aretalogyand the
AncientNovel,"ed. G. Schmeling,
TheNovelin theAncientWorld,131150;Egyptian
origin:J.W.B.Barns,"EgyptandtheGreekRomance,"ed.
H. Gerstinger,
Aktendes VIII internationalen
KongressfurPapyrologie
(Vienna:R. M. Rohrer,1956),29-36;and G. Anderson,
AncientFiction:
The Novel in theGraeco-RomanWorld(London:CroomHelm, 1984);
critiquedby S. Stephensand J. J. Winkler,Fragments,
pp. 11-18.The
argumenthas been raised again by I. Rutherford,
"Kalasiris and
SetneKhamwas:a GreekNovel and Some EgyptianModels,"ZPE 117
(1997): 203-09.M. FutrePinheiro,
"A Atracqaopelo Egipto,"makesthe
moremodestclaimthatEgyptis a favorite
miseen sceneforGreekstorytellingfromHerodotusto Heliodorus,a tendency
whichbecomesfully
developedin theGreeknovels.
43 S. Nimis,"TheProsaicsoftheAncientNovel,"Arethusa27.3 (Fall 1994):
387-411. Genre questionsare reviewedthoroughly
in S. Swain, "A
andMoreoftheGreekNovel,"ed. S. Swain,Oxford
Century
Readingsin
theGreekNovel(Oxford:OxfordUP, 1999),3-35.
44 E. Bowie, "The AncientReaders of the Greek Novels," ed. Gareth
TheNovelin theAncientWorld,87-106;M. BriosoSainchez,
Schmeling,
de consumoen la novelagriegaantigua?:Carit6n
",Oralidady literatura
de Efeso,"Habis 31 (2000): 177-217and 32 (2001): 425-61,
y Jenofonte
arguingagainstM. Fusillo,"Letteratura
di consumoe romanzesca,"
eds.
G. Cambianoet al., Lo spazio letteratiodella Grecia antica (Rome:
Salerno,1994)1.3,233-73.
45 EarlierdiscussionsofEgyptinthenovelsincludeE. M. Smith,"TheEgypt
oftheGreekRomance,"ClassicalJournal23 (1927): 531-37;M. Brioso
Sainchez,
"Egiptoen la novelagriegaantigua,"Habis 3 (1992): 197-215,
whoincludesextensivediscussionof thefragments.
L. Plazenet,"Le Nil
et sondeltadansles romansgrecs,"Phoenix40 (1995): 5-22,lookscarefullyat therhetorical
toposof theNile,whichprovideseach authorwith
a pretext
fordefining
hisliterary
goalsrather
thanforthesakeofrealism.
Alif24 (2004)
59
46 BriosoSainchez,
"Egitto,"213-15.
47 M. M. Bakhtin,The Dialogical Imagination,
trans.C. Emerson(Austin:
ofTexas Press,1981), 100.On Chariton'sEgyptin particular,
University
"Institutional
Realia in Chariton'sCallirhoe:
see K. de Temmerman,
HistoricalandContemporary
Humanitas54 (2002): 181-83.
Elements,"
48 Withone minorexceptionat 7.2.2.
49 P. Salmon,"Chariton
d'Aphrodisaset la revolteegyptienne
de 360 avant
J.-C."Chroniqued'Egypt36 no. 72 (1961): 365-76.
50 D. R. Edwards,"Surviving
theWeb ofRomanPower:ReligionandPolitics
in the Acts of the Apostles,Josephus,and Chariton'sChaereas and
Callirhoe,"ed. A. Loveday,Images of Empire (Sheffield:Sheffield
AcademicPress,1991),200. He notesthatAphrodite's
rolein
prominent
theJulio-Claudian
is something
thatthecityofAphrodisias
family
promoted in othercontexts.
M. LaPlace,"Les legendestroyennes
dansle "roman"
de Chariton,"
REG 93 (1980): 83-125,sees a politicalmessagein parallels
betweenRomanfigures,
suchas Aeneas,tocharacters
inthenovel.
51 K. Haynes,Fashioningthe Femininein the GreekNovel (New York:
Routledge,2003), 160-61.
52 J. Alvares,"EgyptianUnrestof the RomanEra and the Receptionof
Chariton'sChaireasand Callirhoe,"Maia 53 (2001): 11. See also his
excellentdiscussionof the Egyptianrevoltin "Some Political and
IdeologicalDimensionsof Chariton'sChaireasand Callirhoe,"Classical
Journal97.2 (Dec.-Jan.2001-2002): 113-44;and thethoughtful
discussion of S. Schwartz,"Rome in theGreekNovel? Imagesand Ideas of
Empirein Chariton'sPersia,"Arethusa36 (2003): 375-94.
53 J. Rife,"Officialsof theRomanProvincesin Xenophon'sEphesiaca,"
ZPE 138 (2002): 104-07,arguingagainstJ. O'Sullivan,Xenophonof
Ephesus: His CompositionalTechniqueand the Birthof the Novel.
(Berlin:W. de Gruyter,
1995),whodatesthenovelearlierthanChariton.
F. Sartori,"Italie et Sicile dans le Roman de Xenophond'Ephese,"
Journaldes Savants(1985): 161-86,hearsin Xenophon"echoes of an
anti-Roman
polemic."
54 H. Henne,H., "La Geographiede l'Egyptedans Xenophond'Ephese,"
Revued'histoirede la philosophieetd'histoiregeneralede la civilisation
4 (1936): 97-106; J. Schwartz,"Quelques remarquessur les Ephesiaques,"Acta Classica 54 (1985): 200-03.A moregenerousassesment
of
Xenophon's"documentary
value" is givenby F. Sartori,"L'Egittodi
Senofonte
Efesio,"eds. L. CrisculoandG. Geraci,Egittoe StoriaAntica
dal'Ellenismoall'EtaiAraba (Bologna:CLUEB, 1989),657-69.
55 For religiousinterpretations
of these events,see R. Merkelbach,Isis
60
Alif24 (2004)
Teubner,1995),356-61.BriosoSanchez,
Regina-ZeusSarapis(Stuttgart:
a breakin thetradi"Egipto,"204-05,arguesthatXenophonrepresents
of thereligiouscharof Egyptby his centralization
tionalrepresentation
acteroftheplace.
of the Ancient
56 A. Scaracella,"The Social and Economic Structures
TheNovelintheAncientWorld,238. On thecomNovels,"G. Schmeling,
betweentheheroand Hippothous,see J. Alvares,
parisonand contrast
"The Drama of Hippothousin Xenophonof Ephesus' Ephesiaca,"
ClassicalJournal90.4 (1995): 393-404.
57 D. Konstan,"XenophonofEphesus:ErosandNarrative
intheNovel,"eds.
GreekFiction:theGreekNovelinContext
J.R. MorganandR. Stoneman,
(New York:Routledge,1994),49-63.
58 Plazenet,"Le Nil," 12.
59 S. Goldhill,Foucault'sVirginity
UP, 1995).
(Cambridge:Cambridge
60 Leucippeand Clitophon,
5.1.1-3.Thisis a precisof a longerpassagethat
I have analyzedelsewhere:S. Nimis,"Memoryand Descriptionin the
AncientNovel,"Arethusa31.1 (Winter1998): 99-122.
JRS61 (1971):
61 P. Brown,"The Rise oftheHolyMan in Late Antiquity,"
80-101.
62 Rutherford,
"Boukoloi,"113-16.
63 Fortheaccuracyand sourcesofHeliodorus'descriptions
ofEgypt,see P.
chezHeliodore,"eds.M. F. Baslez etal.,
Realitesegyptiennes
Cauderlier,
Le Mondedu RomanGrec(Paris:Pressesde l'Ecole normalesuperieure,
1992),221-31.
64 For the culturaland genealogicalinversionsin the novel, see T.
"The Birthof a Prodigy:Heliodorusand theGenealogyof
Whitmarsh,
Cambridge
StudiesinHeliodorus(Cambridge:
Hellenism"ed. R. Hunter,
ofKnemonandtheGreeks,
UP, 1998),93-124.ForHeliodorus'treatment
see D. N. Levin, "AethiopicaIII-IV: GreekDunces, EgyptianSage,"
Athenaeum
80 (1992): 499-506.
65 Thyamis'rehabilitation
is made moreplausibleby thefactthathe is a
a rare
by his schemingbrother,
priestwho has been drivento banditry
in antiquity,
whichis parallelledin a demotexampleof"socialbanditry"
"Boukoloi,"109-13.
ic story,
theContestfor
theBenefice.See Rutherford,
For"socialbanditry"
see McGing."Bandits."
66 See F. Jameson,The Political Unconscious(Ithaca:CornellUP, 1981),
118-19,fora parallelin medievalFrenchromance.
67 G. Sandy, "Characterization
and PhilosophicalDecor in Heliodorus'
oftheAmericanPhilologicalAssociation112
Transactions
Aithiopika."
(1982): 141-67.
Alif24 (2004)
61
68 Hartog,"Greeks,"224.
69J.R. Morgan,"TheAithiopika
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ofHeliodorus:
108.
GreekFiction:theGreekNovelin Context,
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Heliodorus'Aithiopika."
71 I. Rutherford,
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72 On thesignificance
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73 Sandy,"Characterization,"
givesa fullaccountoftheseinstances.
74 E. Hornung,
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Egypt in Greco-Roman History and Fiction

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Department of English and Comparative Literature, American University in

Egyptin Greco-RomanHistoryand Fiction*

whenSolon thelawgiveris toldby theEgyptians

fiedaftertheirdeath,whichis partofa moregeneraltendency

novel.The heroHabrocomesis crucified

Anthia,whenwillI everfindyou,evenas a corpse?The

relativemeritsof love objects,the novelisticMenelausvigorously

of Egyptby the holy men of late antiquitywill also make this

of Egypt,for"Greeksfindall Egyptianlore and legendirresistible"

A versionof this article was presentedat the second Rethymnon

47 (1995): 441-68. Thereare otherworkson thesubjectthathave not

Foucault,M. The Care of theSelf.Trans.R. Hurley.New York: Vintage

Smelik,K. A. D. and E. A. Hemelrijk,"'Who Knows What Monsters

GreekWorld,AD 50-250.Oxford:OxfordUP, 1996.

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