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Loading... Daphnis and Chloeby Longos
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Recommended if the sentence, "I swear by the goats," said not an iota ironically, appeals to you. ( ) In this delightful short tale from ancient Greece, in fact one of the oldest existing novels, Daphnis and Chloe are both foundlings raised by foster families in a pastoral community and spend their days tending their goats. As they come of age they find they are attracted to one another, but being complete innocents they aren't sure how to act on it. Luckily, fate and the gods ultimately come to the rescue! I have to say it was a really amazing experience to read such an old work which, incredibly, has survived more or less intact for nearly 2000 years. This translation is surprisingly readable today, way more accessible than a lot of stiff and formal older works. And, it's a cute and heartwarming story to boot — highly recommended! no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesThe Abbey Classics (13) Bernat Metge (213) — 11 more Imprint Society (1972) insel taschenbuch (0136) Insel-Bücherei (Nr. 1527) Penguin Classics (L059) Reclams Universal-Bibliothek (6911) Salamanderpockets (113) Is contained inIs retold inInspiredNotable Lists
'he sat down and wept, to think that even the rams knew more about the deeds of love than he did'Daphnis is fifteen years old, Chloe thirteen. They are drawn to each other and long to make love. But no one has told them what love is, nor do they know how to accomplish the physical act. Round their predicament Longus weaves a fantasy which entertains and instructs, but never errs in taste.The hard toil and precariousness of peasant life are here, but so are its compensations - revelry, music, dance, and storytelling. Above the action brood divine presences - Eros, Dionysus, Pan, the Nymphs - who collaborate to guide the adolescents into the mystery of Love, at once a sensual and areligious initiation.Daphnis and Chloe is the best known, and the best, of the early Greek romances, precursors to the modern novel. Admired by Goethe, it has been reinterpreted in music and art by Ravel and Chagall. This new translation is immensely readable, and does full justice to the humour and humanity of thestory. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)883.01Literature Greek and other Classical languages Prose and Fiction, Classical Greek Pseudo-CallisthenesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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