"The Pastorals, or the

Loves of Daphnis and Chloe"


 illustrations by

Marc Chagall

1961
   
 

Longus flourished 3rd century AD Greek writer, author of Daphnis and Chloe, the first pastoral prose romance (see pastoral literature) and one of the most popular of the Greek erotic romances. The story concerns Daphnis and Chloe, two foundlings brought up by shepherds in Lesbos, who gradually fall in love and finally marry. The author is less concerned with the complications of plot, however, than with describing the way that love developed between his hero and heroine, from their first naïve and confused feelings of childhood to full sexual maturity. Longus' penetrating psychological analysis contrasts strongly with the inept characterization of other Greek romances. His stylized descriptions of gardens and landscapes and the alternating of the seasons show a notable feeling for nature. The general tone of his romance is dictated by the quality prescribed by ancient critics for the bucolic genre—glykytes, a “sweetening” of the pastoral life.

Daphnis and Chloe: Frontispiece

Lamon Discovers Daphnis

Dryas Discovers Chloe

Lamon's and Dryas's Dream

The Wolf Pit

Daphnis and Chloe beside the Fountain

Springtime in the Meadow

Chloe's Judgement

Chloe's Kiss

Dorcon's Strategy

Noon, in Summer

Death of Dorcon

The Little Swallow

The Nymph's Cave

The Wine Harvest

Philetas's Lesson

The Young Methymneans

Daphnis' Dream and the Nymphs

Philetas's Orchard

Chloe is Carried Off by the Methymneans

Captain Bryaxis's Dream