Milesian tale

Milesian tale

Greek  Milēsiaka , Latin  Milesia fabula  

      originally one of a group of works written in Greek by Aristides of Miletus (2nd century BC), consisting of brief erotic or picaresque tales of romantic adventure. Aristides' work is lost, and only fragments remain of the translation into Latin by Lucius Cornelius Sisenna, a Roman historian of the age of Sulla (early 1st century BC). The work is said to have been popular. After the Parthians defeated Marcus Licinius Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae (Carrhae, Battle of) (53 BC), the victors displayed as a sign of Roman decadence a copy found in the baggage of a Roman soldier. Eventually the name “Milesian tales” was used generically to denote literary works similar to the stories in Aristides' book.

      The influence of Aristides' Milesian Tales has been traced in the Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter (Petronius Arbiter, Gaius) (1st century AD)—especially in the story "The Widow of Ephesus" —and in The Golden Ass of Lucius Apuleius (Apuleius, Lucius) (2nd century AD). Milesian tales provided the models for stories in Giovanni Boccaccio (Boccaccio, Giovanni)'s Decameron (1348–53), the Heptaméron of Margaret Of Angoulême (1558–59), and The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer (Chaucer, Geoffrey) (1390–1400)—e.g., "The Wife of Bath's Tale." Petronius's "The Widow of Ephesus" was used as the basis of Christopher Fry (Fry, Christopher)'s play A Phoenix Too Frequent (1946).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Milesian tale — The Milesian tale (Milesiaka, in Latin fabula milesiaca, or Milesiae fabula) originates in ancient Greek and Roman literature. According to most authorities, it is a short story, fable, or folktale featuring love and adventure, usually being… …   Wikipedia

  • milesian tale — noun Usage: usually capitalized M Etymology: milesian (I) : one of a class of short salacious tales current in Greek and Roman antiquity …   Useful english dictionary

  • Picaresque novel — Picaresque redirects here. For the album by the Decemberists, see Picaresque (album). The picaresque novel (Spanish: picaresca, from pícaro, for rogue or rascal ) is a popular sub genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in… …   Wikipedia

  • Ó hAnluain — Ó Anluain The Ó Hanlon , Lord of Orior Ancestral house Uí Nialláin (Síl Cernaich) Titles kings of Uí Nialláin roidama of Ireland (w/ others) lords of Airghialla The O’Hanlon, lord of Orior Rex et Duxes, Airthir Lord of Nialláin Baron of Orior… …   Wikipedia

  • Irish Literature — • It is uncertain at what period and in what manner the Irish discovered the use of letters. It may have been through direct commerce with Gaul, but it is more probable, as McNeill has shown in his study of Irish oghams, that it was from the… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • short story — short story, adj. a piece of prose fiction, usually under 10,000 words. [1885 90] * * * Brief fictional prose narrative. It usually presents a single significant episode or scene involving a limited number of characters. The form encourages… …   Universalium

  • Ionians (The) — The Ionians Malcolm Schofield THALES AND OTHERS The Greeks agreed that philosophy had begun with Thales. However they did not know much about his views.1 What survives is mostly a potent legend. Herodotus tells stories of his practical ingenuity …   History of philosophy

  • Irish literature — Introduction       the body of written works produced by the Irish. This article discusses Irish literature written in English from about 1690; its history is closely linked with that of English literature. Irish language literature is treated… …   Universalium

  • Mermaid — For other uses, see Mermaid (disambiguation). Mermaid A Mermaid by John William Waterhouse Mythology World mythology Grouping Mythological S …   Wikipedia

  • Polis and its culture (The) — The polis and its culture Robin Osborne INTRODUCTION ‘We love wisdom without becoming soft’, Thucydides has the Athenian politician Pericles claim, using the verb philosophein.1 Claims to, and respect for, wisdom in archaic Greece were by no… …   History of philosophy

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”