SOURCE: Alvares, Jean. “Chariton's Erotic History.” American Journal of Philology 118, no. 4 (winter 1997): 613-29.

In the following essay, Alvares interprets Chariton's novel as an alternative history which emphasizes romantic values.

It is clear that numerous personages and events of Chaireas and Callirhoe are either taken directly from history or are in some way based on historiographical materials.¹ The work has been considered a historical romance,² yet its mixture of genuine historical fact, gross inaccuracies, anachronisms of Chariton's period,³ and reflections of drama, oratory, and epic⁴ suggests to some that Chariton merely aims to provide a “general colouring of Greek history, to titillate the readers” (Reardon 1996, 327). I believe Chariton had larger aims. Building upon the insights of Edwards (1987, 29-51) into how Chariton depicts Aphrodite's influence upon politics and society, I consider here how Chariton adapts familiar elements from history in order to provide a contrast to history, as those elements'...