author

Achilles Tatius

An ancient Greek storyteller from Roman-era Alexandria, he is remembered for a vivid romantic adventure that helped carry the spirit of Greek prose fiction into later literary history.

1 Audiobook

The Greek Romances of Heliodorus, Longus and Achilles Tatius Comprising the Ethiopics; or, Adventures of Theagenes and Chariclea; The pastoral amours of Daphnis and Chloe; and the loves of Clitopho and Leucippe

The Greek Romances of Heliodorus, Longus and Achilles Tatius Comprising the Ethiopics; or, Adventures of Theagenes and Chariclea; The pastoral amours of Daphnis and Chloe; and the loves of Clitopho and Leucippe

by Achilles Tatius, of Emesa Heliodorus, Longus

About the author

Achilles Tatius was a Greek writer associated with Alexandria and is usually placed in the 2nd century AD. Very little about his life can be confirmed, which is common for authors from antiquity, but his reputation has lasted because of one surviving novel.

That work, Leucippe and Clitophon—also known as The Adventures of Leucippe and Clitophon—is one of the major ancient Greek romances. It blends love story, travel, danger, and dramatic reversals, and readers have long noted its lively style and taste for suspense.

Although the biographical record is thin, his novel has given Achilles Tatius an enduring place in literary history. He is often remembered as part of the tradition that shaped the development of prose fiction long before the modern novel took form.