| Decoding the Ancient Novel: The Reader and the Role of Description in Heliodorus and Achilles Tatius Subjects: Greek fiction -- History and criticism; Romances Greek -- History and criticism; Heliodorus of Emesa. Aethiopica; Achilles Tatius. Leucippe and Clitophon; Reader-response criticism; Description (Rhetoric); Rhetoric Ancient; Using a reader-oriented approach, Shadi Bartsch reconsiders the role of detailed descriptive accounts in the ancient Greek novels of Heliodorus and Achilles Tatius and in so doing offers a new view of the genre itself. Bartsch demonstrates that these passages, often misunderstood as mere ornamental devices, form in fact an integral part of the narrative proper, working to activate the audience's awareness of the play of meaning in the story. As the crucial elements in the evolution of a relationship in which the author arouses and then undermines the expectations of his readership, these passages provide the key to a better understanding and interpretation of these two most sophisticated of the ancient Greek romances. |