SOURCE: Schmeling, Gareth L. “Analysis of The Adventures of Chaereas and Callirhoe,” “A Happy Ending.” In Chariton, pp. 76-129. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1974.

In the following excerpt, Schmeling examines Chariton's use of historical materials, his skill in creating plot and interesting characters, and his use of contrast and irony.

I Introduction: Historical Perspectives

Had Chariton been trying to write a kind of history or historical reflections of the fifth-fourth-century b.c. Greek world, we could fault him for tampering with facts, confusing rulers, and failure to understand the great movements of peoples and events. On the other hand, however, in antiquity even the great Greek historian Herodotus and the eminent Roman historian Livy were most interested in conveying an overall impression or reflection of the period under consideration. Such criticism would hardly be appropriate here, for Chariton places his work within the genre of prose fiction and...