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Heliodorus. Historia di Heliodoro delle Cose Ethiopiche. Vinegia: Gabriel Giolito de Ferrari, 1559/1560.
Author of the longest ancient Greek novel, Heliodorus has been identified with a Christian bishop in Thessaly. His novel, entitled Aethiopica (or Theagenes and Charicleia) was probably composed between 225 and 250 A.D. Written in an imitation of the Attic dialect, it narrates the romance between an Ethiopian princess and a Thessalian prince.
Aethiopica remained popular through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was read as a novel of chivalry and was considered an epic poem written in prose. This work influenced Bernard Tasso and Miguel de Cervantes as well as the French novelists of the 17th century.
Besides the Italian translation printed by the prestigious Giolito in 1560, the Durand Collection has a remarkable number of sixteenth century editions of the Aethiopica in Greek, Latin, French and Spanish.
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