Inaug.-Diss.--Basel. / "Lebenslauf." "Literatur-und Abkürzungsverzeichnis": p. 3-4.

Inaug.-Diss.--Basel. / "Lebenslauf." "Literatur-und Abkürzungsverzeichnis": p. 3-4.

This thesis consists of four individual studies, divided into two sections; "Narrative Structure" and "Narrative Texture". The first chapter ("Heliodoros and the Conventions of Romance") addresses the issue of the essence of romance; it attempts to get behind the narrative of the Aithiopika in such a way as to reveal how Heliodoros works within the boundaries and received practice of the genre ancient romance, and how he adapts and deviates from them. The second chapter ("Hearing Voices: Incorporated Genres in the Aithiopika") deals with genre, but in a different context. This study takes a concept- incorporated genre- from the theorist M.M. Bakhtin, and applies it to Heliodoros' narrative. Here the term "genre" takes on a broader significance, meaning not the romances themselves, but types of narrative, and ways of narrating, which Heliodoros has introduced into his story. Both chapters one and two are systematic analyses of the text; they deal with how Heliodoros has structured his narrative in ways conventional and unconventional. In the final chapters the term genre encompasses specific works and literary groupings. These studies help to demonstrate how Heliodoros has fleshed out the basic structure of the Aithiopika, or, in other words, they provide a feel for some of the texture of the romance. "Heliodoros and Homer" is explicitly narratological in outlook, showing one way in which Heliodoros has provided a paradigm for reading, perhaps not just the novel itself, but specifically within the novel the references to and allusions from Homer. "Heliodoros and Tragedy" tackles the meaning of theatricality, and references to the theatre, in an author writing in the late Roman Empire. But this chapter, too, provides a glimpse at the narrative texture, especially with regard to the way in which Heliodoros co-opted yet another literary predecessor, Euripides.

The thesis consists of an introduction to and commentary on books 3 and 4 of the Ethiopian Story of Heliodorus. The introduction explores the meagre evidence for the life of the author, and concludes that he was probably a Phoenician living in the Syrian city of Emesa. The nature of the personal relationship between Heliodorus and the cult of the sun, mentioned explicitly in the final sentence of the romance, is discussed but must remain inconclusive. References to Helios in the romance are shown to be largely literary rather than programmatically religious. The narrative context surrounding the encounter between the hero and heroine of the story and the latter's strange birth, which constitutes the true opening of the romance, are investigated particularly closely. The possibility that the author represented his heroine, paradoxically born white to the black king and queen of Ethiopia, as what would today be termed an albino, is analysed, and the literary and cultural implications of this evaluated. Comparative anthropological studies of this hereditary condition in a variety of cultures show a strong connection with religious cults of the sun, while the internal evidence in the romance (particularly the heroine 's miraculous birth, the constrained sexuality of the hero and heroine, and the high degree of cultural alienation in the work) further corroborate this argument. The introduction also reviews the evidence for the date of the romance, such as the extent of the author's knowledge of the contemporary kingdoms of Axum and Meroe, his use of words and linguistic forms that were prevalent in the fourth century, the traces of Christian doctrines in the romance, the comparison between the sieges of Syene and Nisibis, and the similarity between the account of the triumphal procession of Aurelian in Vopiscus' biography of the emperor and the presentation of ambassadors to Hydaspes. This survey shows that there are strong arguments for the fourth century date for the romance. The introduction concludes with a brief survey of the language and style of Heliodorus. The commentary provides detailed discussion of key passages for the interpretation of the author's narratological strategy, with particular regard to the role of Kalasiris in the plot. Other substantial notes look at the author's treatment of the conventions of romance , his ironical use of the superstition of the 'evil eye', his subtle characterisation, and his use of literary topoi. The thesis concludes with appendices on the intertextual relationship between the Homeric epics and the Ethiopian Story, the significance of the word uvn6Eoc;, and the 'amphibolies', or double explanations for events in the narrative. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

This commentary attempts to combine the functions of a traditional textual and linguistic study with those of literary criticism. It deals with the many passages in the last two books of the Aithiopica where the text is in doubt or its meaning obscure, and discusses a variety of stylistic points, presenting parallels for many of Heliodoros' peculiar usages. It adduces comparative material to relate Heliodoros' geographical, anthropological and historical setting both to reality and to the beliefs and practices of the ancient world. It also offers the reader of Heliodoros a running commentary on larger issues of narrative technique, characterisation, structure and overall interpretation, shoving how Bks.9 & 10 form the climax of the novel; these elements together form a judgement on Heliodoros' stature as a writer and his success as a novelist. The Introduction offers a connected treatment of four important themes: Section 1 discusses the dating of the Aithiopica and argues that it must have been written after Shapur's siege of Nisibis in AD 350, but that Heliodoros was not drawing on Julian's account of the siege; the possibility of a shared source is suggested; Section 2 discusses the religious background of the novel and rejects the religious interpretation, arguing that the many references to the supernatural do not shew a consistent view of divine intervention in human affairs and derive from a purely literary desire for unity and forward movement; Section 3 analyses Heliodoros' attempt to achieve realism and classifies the devices he uses; Section 4 discusses the author's prose style and isolates some characteristic features.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Classical Languages and Literatures, August 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Diss. : Bochum : 1991. / Originally presented as the author's thesis, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 1991. Bibliogr.: p. 281-290.

This thesis seeks to analyze the Homeric allusions in the Aethiopica with an inclusive definition to explore Heliodorus’ authorial motives. To approach this project, I use textual analysis to avoid arguments rooted in assumptions of the historical context of the novel, about which we know almost nothing. I explore how links to Homer’s Odyssey are visible within the structural organization of the text and the content of the text. I also explore how the content of the novel reproduces actions and compatible settings of Odyssean characters, which therefore qualifies Heliodorus’ characters in a metaliterary commentary with Homer’s archaic epic poem. The division of Odyssean actions and traits depicted in Heliodorus’ characters introduce a new addition to the heroic legacy established by Homer and distances the hero from Greek identity. I conclude that Heliodorus’ adherences to epic conventions and departures thereof inform the subtextual commentaries conveyed in the Aethiopica.

Cette étude s’attache à l’observation et l’analyse du fait religieux dans les romans grecs. Les romans de Chariton, Xénophon d’Éphèse, Longus, Achille Tatius et Héliodore forment un corpus étonnamment cohérent, au vu de la distance temporelle qui les sépare. Ils se refusent pourtant à toute tentative de généralisation en matière religieuse. Prenant le contre-pied des études symbolistes, ce travail présente un relevé exhaustif de la religion observable dans les romans. Sont ainsi étudiés les lieux de culte et leur personnel, ansi que les actes rituels effectués par les personnages. La mise en rapport des cultes romanesques avec l'archéologie et les conceptions religieuses des époques classique et impériale se révèle un moyen de prendre la mesure d’une reconstruction romanesque de la réalité, passée ou contemporaine. Le rapport de valeur établi dans les romans entre sacrifice et prière ainsi qu’entre cultes collectif et personnel permet d'apercevoir certains aspects de la religion propres à l'époque impériale. Mis en relation avec l'usage rhétorique et romanesque du fait religieux, il permet également de définir le projet de chacun des romanciers, en matière religieuse et politique, mais aussi esthétique. / This thesis concentrates on the observation and analysis of places, people and acts of religion in Greek fiction. Charito, Xenophon Ephesius, Longus, Achilles Tatius and Heliodorus have produced suprisingly similar novels given that they were written at quite different times, although they still resist every attempt at religious generalisation. Traditionnal studies on the subject are symbolistic, on the contrary, here we will analyse the concrete aspects of religion, as they actually appear in these novels. So we will study the sacred places, the priests, and the rituals performed out by the novel's characters. The comparison of these fictionnal cults with archeological findings and religious conceptions from Imperial and Classical times will allow us to mesure the novelist's reconstruction of a reality, pertaining to their present or their past. The respective value given in these novels to sacrifice and prayer, to collective and individual cults shows some modern aspects of Greek religion in the Imperial era. If put in relation with the rhetorical and dramatic use of religion, this will also provide elements to define each novelist's religious, political but also esthetic project.

L’analyse du vocabulaire grec du visage dans l’ensemble des romans de Chariton, de Xénophon, de Longus, d’Héliodore et d’Achille Tatius a pour dessein de montrer l’intérêt certain, à la fois esthétique et sensoriel, porté à cette partie souveraine du corps. Quelle est donc l’importance accordée au visage du héros ou de l’héroïne ? Et de quelle manière le discours rend-il compte de son incarnation, de sa réalité organique ? Comment les visages des personnages interagissent-ils ? Parce que le visage se révèle une interface entre l’intime et le social, entre l’intériorité et l’expressivité, on peut se demander en quoi ce lieu privilégié du corps, à travers la description de l’aspect physique des personnages, caractérise leur éthos permanent ou communique au lecteur leurs émotions fugitives. Le visage s’offre aux regards et interpelle. Ses traits sont autant de signes à interpréter pour celui ou celle qui le regarde et dont il mobilise le système de reconnaissance et de représentation. Certes, la description physique des héroïnes comme celle des jeunes hommes ne se limite pas au visage. Mais, seul le visage, qui n’a rien d’incertain, d’irrégulier, de disharmonieux, est appelé à refléter les vertus des personnages mais aussi ses plus grandes souffrances. La mise en icônes de traits représentatifs des personnages s’inscrit dans la logique des procédures de description physique qui caractérise la culture romanesque. Le roman aime ainsi à représenter la beauté, en alliant aux manifestations physiques les émotions de l’âme. Les visages des héros romanesques grecs sont dévoilés dans une sorte de mosaïque à la fois anatomique et littéraire, évoquant les éléments fondamentaux qui les constituent. Ainsi, sans confondre visage et portrait, nous avons déconstruit le visage romanesque pour en montrer les diverses facettes, la palette des couleurs, les références littéraires intertextuelles et mythologiques mais aussi certains invariants, pour enfin mieux le reconstruire. Nous avons donc procédé à l’étude et à l’analyse du visage, non seulement comme entité mais en tant que visage morcelé, voire éclaté. L’étude approfondie des sens s’est attachée à souligner la passion, ses effets et les émotions du corps, entre plaisir et souffrance, entre affection et violence. Cette recherche a permis de souligner les éléments communs aux différents romanciers, mais aussi leur originalité d'écriture. L'importance accordée au visage et plus généralement au corps dans la narratologie laisse apparaître le reflet des valeurs de la société grecque de leur temps. / The analysis of Greek vocabulary about the face in Chariton, Xenophon, Longus, Heliodorus and Achilles Tatius’s novels as a whole plans to show the definite interest, both aesthetic and sensory focused on this sovereign part of the body. So what is the importance attached to the hero or heroine’s faces? And how does the discourse explain its incarnation and organical reality? The face proves to be an interface between the private and social world, between interiority and expressiveness. So we can wonder how this privileged part of the body characterizes their permanent ethos ; we can wonder how it transmits their fleeting emotions to the reader, through the description of the physical look of the characters. The face catches attention. Its features mobilize the system of recognition and representation. Indeed the physical description of heroines as well as heroes is not limited to the face. But only the face, with nothing uncertain, irregular, disharmonious, is assigned to reflect the characters’ virtues but also their greatest suffering. « La mise en icônes »of characters’ representative features is part of the procedures of physical description that characterize the culture of the novel. Thus the novel likes to represent beauty by combining physical expressions with soul feeling. The faces of Greek novelistic heroes are revealed in a kind of mosaic at once anatomical and literary, evoking the basic elements that constitute them. Thus, without mixing up face and portrait, we have deconstructed the novelistic face to show its various facets, colour palette, intertextual literary and mythological references ; but also to show some invariants to, at last, rebuild it in a better way. We have therefore conducted a thorough study and analysis of the face not only as an entity but as a fragmented even blown up face. The detailed study of senses has endeavoured to emphasize passion and its effects, and show the emotions of the body between pleasure and suffering, affection and violence. On the one hand this research has permitted to highlight the elements common to the different novelists, their original writing and the importance granted to face and more generally to body in narratology. On the other hand it has led us to analyze the reflection of the values of the Greek society of their days.