Drosilla and Charikles

Unfortunately, Drosilla and Charikles is one of the least satisfying Greek romances. And it can't be blamed on the translation by Elizabeth Jeffreys. Due to curiosity about the Byzantine revivals of the Greek romance in verse form, I read the relatively short romance by Niketas Eugenianos. Clearly the work of a well-read Byzantine intellectual during the Komnenian dynasty, the novel references Helidorus, Longus, and the full range of ancient Greek texts and mythology. Niketasa even endeavors to begin in media res, and revive pre-Christian Greece in a narrative with all the conventions of the genre: shipwrecks, pirates, epic battles involving ancient kings and emperors (Chagos of the Arabs, Katylos of the Parthians), the use of deception by the protagonists to trick those in love with them, visions through dreams, and constant invocations of the role of Dionysos, Eros, and other gods in shaping their fate. Unsurprisingly, Dionysian and erotic themes abound, but only approved in the sanctimony of marriage (the author was a Christian, after all).

However, this falls far short of the other Greek romances in that the author relies far more on telling rather than showing the plot. Much of the text actually consists of songs and long digressions by the protagonists to lengthen the text, which may have helped for recitations of the work in the Komnenian court (or other Byzantine literary circles) but do not make for exciting reading. It probably doesn't help that a number of plot-holes and lazy writing mar the story, suggesting the author did not write as coherently as he should have. Or, perhaps, issues with surviving manuscripts have further muddled the issue. Perhaps the intended audience for the romance, erudite readers and members of the Komnenian court, would have received additional details from readings that would fill in the blanks that are missing? Or enlivened the battle scene of Chagos and his Arab army besieging the Parthian capital?

Either way, Drosilla and Charikles are far less exciting, interesting, or amusing than Charicleia and Theagenes, or even Hysmine and Hysminias. It's less erotic, too, despite some rather racy passages and innuendo. It does introduce love letter exchanges into the text, something one cannot recall from the ancient romances, so there's a playful use of various textual forms (poetry, song, proverb, Biblical allusion, Theocritus's pastoral poetry). As far as inventiveness and readability, it is a lesser romance despite some of its new elements of the Byzantine revival. Nevertheless, still a worthwhile read for those eager to trace the influence of the Greek romance beyond Antiquity.