"As You Look Closer You Notice" Ekphrasis in Three Ancient Greek Novels

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Rohrbacher, David

Keywords

Ekphrasis, Greek, Novel

Area of Concentration

Humanities

Abstract

Ancient Greek novels are prose narratives that vary in sophistication and style, and mark the birth of a genre that flourishes to this day. Ekphrasis is verbal representation of visual art. This thesis explores the use of ekphrasis in Achilles Tatius' Leukippe and Kleitophon, Longus' Daphnis and Chloe, and Heliodorus' Aethiopica. The introduction describes the genre, summarizes modern ekphrastic theory, and offers an amended definition of ekphrasis. The first chapter focuses on Achilles Tatius' ekphrastic prologue, pointing to his innovative treatment of interpretation, sight, and authorial control. The second chapter examines the appearance of ekphrases throughout the novel, arguing that they introduce ideas about the nature of representation and elicit the reader's interpretation. The third chapter investigates the use of ekphrasis in Longus' and Heliodorus' novels, suggesting that each develops his own representational technique, and that ekphrasis gives a striking voice to complex issues of narrative and description. I conclude that the novelists use ekphrasis to invite the reader's interpretation, and suggest that readers accept that invitation.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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