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HELIODORUS

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Originally appearing in Volume V13, Page 223 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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HELIODORUS , of Emesa in See also:

Syria, See also:Greek writer of See also:romance. According to his own statement his See also:father's name was See also:Theodosius, and he belonged to a See also:family of priests of the See also:sun. He was the author of the Aethiopica, the See also:oldest and best of the Greek romances that have come down to us. It was first brought to See also:light in See also:modern times in a MS. from the library of See also:Matthias See also:Corvinus, found at the See also:sack of Buda (Ofen) in 1526, and printed at See also:Basel in 1534. Other codices have since been discovered. The See also:title is taken from the fact that the See also:action of the beginning and end of the See also:story takes See also:place in Aethiopia. The daughter of Persine, wife of Hydaspes, See also:king of Aethiopia, was See also:born See also:white through the effect of the sight of a See also:marble statue upon the See also:queen during pregnancy. Fearing an See also:accusation of See also:adultery, the See also:mother gives the babe to the care of Sisimithras, a gymnosophist, who carries her to See also:Egypt and places her in See also:charge of Charicles, a Pythian See also:priest. The See also:child is taken to See also:Delphi, and made a priestess of See also:Apollo under the name of Chariclea. Theagenes, a See also:noble Thessalian, comes to Delphi and the two fall in love with each other. He carries off the priestess with the help of Calasiris, an See also:Egyptian, employed by Persine to seek for her daughter. Then follow many perils from See also:sea-rovers and others, but the See also:chief personages ultimately meet at Meroe at the very moment when Chariclea is about to be sacrificed to the gods by her own father.

Her See also:

birth is made known, and the lovers are happily married. The rapid See also:succession of events, the variety of the characters, the graphic descriptions of See also:manners and of natural scenery, the simplicity and elegance of the See also:style, give the Aethiopica See also:great See also:charm. As a whole it offends less against See also:good See also:taste and morality than others of the same class. See also:Homer and See also:Euripides were the favourite authors of Heliodorus, who in his turn was imitated by See also:French, See also:Italian and See also:Spanish writers. The See also:early See also:life of Clorinda in See also:Tasso's See also:Jerusalem Delivered (See also:canto xii.

End of Article: HELIODORUS

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