Decoding the Erōtes: Reception of Achilles Tatius and the Modernity of the Greek Novel

Abstract:This article reconfigures the Lucianic Erōtes as an outstanding testimony to the early reception of Achilles Tatius' Leucippe and Clitophon, predating all other early examples of sophisticated readership. The analysis demonstrates the author's extensive remodelling of the novelist's technique of proleptic ekphrasis, and uses it to tease out the literary implications, so far undetected, of the characters' debate on sex preferences. By proposing an evolutionary theory of imitation and putting it into practice, the author inserted the novel in literary history.