The Ephesian Tale of Anthia and Habrocomes by Xenophon of Ephesus

Xenophon of Ephesus

Xenophon of Ephesus was a Greek writer. His surviving work is the Ephesian Tale of Anthia and Habrocomes, one of the earliest novels as well as one of the sources for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet....

 is a novel written in the mid-2nd century CE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

.

Translator

Translation

Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...

 Graham Anderson sees the Ephesiaca as "a specimen of penny dreadful

Penny Dreadful

A penny dreadful was a type of British fiction publication in the 19th century that usually featured lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a number of weeks, each part costing an penny...

 literature in antiquity." Moses Hadas, an earlier translator, takes a slightly different view: "If An Ephesian Tale is an absorbing tale of love and improbable adventure, it is also a tract to prove that Diana

Diana (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...

 of the Ephesians (who was equated with Isis

Isis

Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...

) cares for her loyal devotees."

Due to its shortness and other factors, some scholars maintain that the version we have is merely an epitome

Epitome

An epitome is a summary or miniature form; an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment....

 of a longer work. The Suda

Suda

The Suda or Souda is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often...

, a 10th century Medieval Greek

Medieval Greek

Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, is the stage of the Greek language between the beginning of the Middle Ages around 600 and the Ottoman conquest of the city of Constantinople in 1453. The latter date marked the end of the Middle Ages in Southeast Europe...

 historical encyclopedia, describes the novel as having ten books when the version we have is divided into five. But Anderson suggests that "we may well find that our version is one of not two but a multiplicity of retellings of a familiar story, whose relationships to Xenophon

Xenophon

Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...

 are not easily identifiable." Translator Jeffrey Henderson offers another reason for the disparity: "For the number of books, the itacism of έ ("five") ... is a likelier explanation of Suda's ί ("ten") than the supposition that our text is an epitome. The story is very similar to the later story of Apollonius of Tyre

Apollonius of Tyre

Apollonius of Tyre is the subject of an ancient short novella, popular during medieval times. Existing in numerous forms in many languages, the text is thought to be translated from an ancient Greek manuscript, now lost.-Plot summary:...

.

Book I

In the city of Ephesus

Ephesus

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...

, Habrocomes, an attractive, cultured, and slightly arrogant young man of 16, and Anthia, an attractive and chaste young woman of 14, fall helplessly in love with each other after briefly meeting at the festival of Artemis

Artemis

Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...

. But because each is afraid to reveal this love to the other, they suffer miserably. Their families, in the hopes of curing them, consult the shrine of Apollo

Apollo

Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...

 at Colophon

Colophon

Colophon was a city in the region of Lydia in antiquity dating from about the turn of the first millennium-BC. It was likely one the oldest of the twelve Ionian League cities, between Lebedos and Ephesus and its ruins are in the eponymously named modern region of Ionia.The city's name comes from...

. The soothsayer predicts that Habrocomes and Anthia will undergo travails involving pirates, tomb

Tomb

A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...

s, fire

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

, and flood

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

, but their condition will improve. In an effort to avert such evils, the parents arrange that the lovers will quickly be married to each other and then sent to Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 for their safety.

En route to Egypt, Habrocomes and Anthia pledge that if they ever became separated they would remain faithful. When their ship stops at Rhodes

Rhodes

Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...

, it attracts the attention of a crew of Phoenicia

Phoenicia

Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

n pirates, who plunder it, set it aflame, and take Habrocomes and Anthia captive. The pirates convey them to Tyre. Their captain, Corymbos, falls in love with Habrocomes, and his fellow pirate Euxinos falls in love with Anthia. Corymbos and Euxinos agree to each talk persuasively to the love object of the other, encouraging cooperation. Habrocomes and Anthia both say they need more time to think before deciding.

Book II

Afterwards, in private, Habrocomes and Anthia decide that their only acceptable recourse is to commit suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 together. However, Apsyrtos, the chief of the pirate stronghold, is struck by the beauty of the young couple and concludes that they would bring an excellent price on the slave market. He takes them, along with their loyal slaves Leucon and Rhode, to his house in Tyre and puts them under the care of a trusted slave, then goes to Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 on other business.

While Apsyrtos is absent, his daughter Manto falls in love with Habrocomes and writes him a note expressing her feelings. He spurns her advances. When Apsyrtos returns, bringing with him a young man named Moeris as a husband for his daughter, Manto takes revenge on Habrocomes by telling her father that Habrocomes had rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

d her. Apsyrtos has Habrocomes whipped and torture

Torture

Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...

d. He then marries Manto to Moeris and gives them a wedding present of three slaves: Anthia, Leucon, and Rhode. Moeris, Manto, and the slaves go to live in Antioch

Antioch

Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...

. Manto separates Leucon and Rhode from Anthia by having them sold to an old man living far away in Lycia

Lycia

Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...

, and completes her revenge by having Anthia married to another slave of hers, a rural goatherd

Goatherd

A goatherd or goatherder is a person who herds goats as a vocational activity. Similar to a fisherman who catches fish for a living, the drover here herds goats. Goatherds are popular in countries where goat populations are significant; for instance, in Africa and South Asia...

 named Lampo.

Meanwhile, Apsyrtos discovers the love note his daughter had written to Habrocomes. He immediately frees Habrocomes and gives him employment as manager of the house.

Lampo honors Anthia's wish to remain faithful to Habrocomes and doesn't attempt to consummate the relationship. But Moeris falls in love with Anthia and seeks Lampo's help in winning her heart. Instead, Lampo tells Manto of her husband's plan; Manto, seeing that Anthia is still her rival in love, becomes enraged and orders Lampo to take Anthia into the forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 and kill her. Lampo promises to do so but takes pity on Anthia and, instead, sells her to Cilicia

Cilicia

In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...

n merchants.

These merchants set sail for their country but are shipwreck

Shipwreck

A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....

ed en route. The survivors, including Anthia, reach shore only to be captured in the forest by a robber named Hippothoos and his band. During this time, Habrocomes learns that Lampo had sold Anthia to the Cilicians, so he secretly goes to Cilicia in search of her.

When the robber band is about to sacrifice Anthia to the god Ares, a body of troops, led by Perilaos, the chief law enforcement official in Cilicia, suddenly appears. All the robbers are killed or captured save Hippothoos, who escapes; and Anthia is rescued. Perilaos takes Anthia and the captured robbers to Tarsus

Tarsus (city)

Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...

, falling in love with her on the way. Because he is so insistent in offering to marry Anthia, she finally relents, fearing a worse fate if she rejects him. But she makes him promise to wait thirty days before the wedding.

Meanwhile, Habrocomes reaches Cilicia and encounters Hippothoos. The two immediately become friendly and pledge to travel together.

Book III

Hippothoos leads Habrocomes away from Cilicia to the city of Mazacos in Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...

. There, at an inn

INN

InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...

, Hippothoos narrates his life story, as follows:

He had been born to a distinguished family in Perinthos, near Thrace

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

. When he was a young man he became involved in a passionate love affair with another young man, Hyperanthes. But then a rich teacher, Aristomachos, visiting from Byzantium

Byzantium

Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...

, also became smitten by Hyperanthes and convinced the boy’s father to let his son be taken to Byzantium on the pretext of improving his education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

. Hippothoos eventually went to Byzantium, sneaked into Aristomachos’ house, murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

ed the man in his sleep, and ran away with Hyperanthes. They were shipwrecked off Lesbos, and Hyperanthes drowned. So Hippothoos buried his lover’s body on the beach, then took up the life of a robber.

Hippothoos then tells Habrocomes of his capture of Anthia in Cilicia and how she was taken in the fight that destroyed his robber band. Habrocomes becomes excited. Appealing to the memory of Hyperanthes, he convinces Hippothoos to return with him to Cilicia to help find Anthia.

When the thirty days are nearly passed and the wedding is near, Anthia falls into despair. Believing that Habrocomes must be dead, and finding marriage to another man intolerable, she conspires with Eudoxos, an Ephesian physician, to give her a poison

Poison

In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....

. In return she will give him enough of Perilaos’ possessions to buy him passage back to Ephesus, and will promise not to use the potion until he has left. Eudoxos agrees to the plan but gives her a hypnotic drug

Drug

A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...

 instead of a lethal one, knowing he will be long gone by the time Anthia awakens.

After her wedding, waiting in the bridal chamber, Anthia drinks the potion. Perilaos discovers her body and grieves for her, interring her with great ceremony in a funerary chamber. She awakens some time later, disappointed at the realization that she is alive. So she decides to remain in the tomb and starve

Starvation

Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...

 herself to death. But a group of robbers have heard of her rich burial and, after waiting for nightfall, break into the vault, take all the silver and gold, and carry her off as prisoner. They set sail for Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, planning to sell her into slavery.

Meanwhile, Habrocomes, with a new band of thieves led by Hippothoos, arrives near Tarsus and hears how Anthia, after being rescued from robbers, had wed her rescuer, killed herself, and been entombed, only to have her body snatched by tomb raiders who escaped to Alexandria. So Habrocomes waits until Hippothoos and his band are drunk and asleep before making his way to a ship bound for Alexandria, hoping to recover Anthia's body.

The robbers sell Anthia to merchants who sell her to Psammis, a prince of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Anthia plays on the Indian’s superstitions by pretending that she is consecrated to Isis

Isis

Isis or in original more likely Aset is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic...

 until the proper time for her marriage, which is still a year off. Isis will punish any who force her break her vows. So Psammis agrees to wait a year before bringing her to his bed.

The ship bearing Habrocomes runs aground at Paralion near the mouth of the Nile

Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...

. A nearby band of thieves called the Shepherd

Shepherd

A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...

s capture the crew, loot the ship, and take everyone across the desert to the Egyptian city of Pelusium

Pelusium

Pelusium was a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said. Alternative names include Sena and Per-Amun , Pelousion , Sin , Seyân , and Tell el-Farama...

. There the crew is sold into slavery. Habrocomes is sold to Araxos, a retired veteran

Veteran

A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...

 soldier, whose annoying and ugly wife, named Cyno (literally meaning "Bitch"), becomes attracted to Habrocomes. Eventually, Cyno murders Araxos in his sleep so she can marry Habrocomes. This causes Habrocomes to flee in horror. So Cyno announces that it was he who murdered her husband. Habrocomes is quickly arrested and taken to Alexandria to be punished by the governor of Egypt.

Book IV

Hippothoos, meanwhile, has enlarged his band to five hundred men and traversed Syria, Phoenicia, and Egypt to arrive at Coptos near Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, where they waylay travelers.

Habrocomes is placed on a cross

Cross

A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...

 upon a cliff

Cliff

In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...

 overlooking the Nile and left to die. He prays for mercy, whereupon a big wind blows the cross into the river. He is carried downstream until he is recaptured and returned to the governor of Egypt. The governor orders Habrocomes to be burned alive. Habrocomes prays for mercy again and is saved, this time by waves from the Nile that douse the flames. The governor views this as a miracle and has Habrocomes imprisoned but well cared for until he can tell his story. Eventually Habrocomes tells his story and is released. The governor helps him sail to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 to continue his search, and has Cyno crucified in his place.

Meanwhile Anthia travels with Psammis and all his goods to Ethiopia. At Coptos, Hippothoos' band raids the caravan, kills Psammis and captures Anthia. Since Anthia and Hippothoos don't recognize each other, Anthia remains a prisoner. Another robber, Anchialos, lusts after Anthia and assaults her. In self-defense, she kills him with a sword. For this, Hippothoos casts her into a pit with two mastiffs and leaves her under guard to die. But her guard, Amphinomos, takes pity upon her and keeps both Anthia and the dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

s fed.

Book V

Habrocomes, blown off course, lands in Syracuse, Sicily

Syracuse, Italy

Syracuse is a historic city in Sicily, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in...

, and lodges with an elderly fisherman

Fisherman

A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...

, Aigialeus. Aigialeus tells his own story of how, in his native Sparta

Sparta

Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...

, his love for Thelxinoe had caused him to elope

Elope

To elope, most literally, merely means to run away with a girl and to not come back to the point of origination. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence together...

 with her before her father could have her married to another. The two settled in Sicily to live out their lives. Recently Thelxinoe died but Aigialeus mummified

Mummy

A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...

 her body in the Egyptian manner and now continues to eat, sleep, and talk with her. The steadfastness of this love is an inspiration to Habrocomes.

Hippothoos, assuming Anthia is dead, sets out to sack and conquer the Egyptian village of Areia. Meanwhile, Amphinomos frees Anthia and takes her to Coptos. When the governor of Egypt learns of Hippothoos’ attack on Areia, he sends a large force under the command of Polyidos to destroy his band. The robbers are vanquished but Hippothoos escapes to Sicily. The captured robbers guide Polyidos and his force back to Coptos to root out any remaining members of the band. There he catches Amphinomos and Anthia.

Taking Anthia back to Alexandria, Polyidos falls in love with her. When Polyidos’ wife, Rhenaia, learns of this, she has her slave take Anthia far away and sell her to a brothel

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

 keeper in Tarentum

Taranto

Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....

, Italy. Hippothoos arrives in Taormina, Sicily, and Habrocomes sails to Italy.

As for Leucon and Rhode, their master in Xanthos has died, leaving them a considerable portion of his estate. So they sail for home, Ephesus, stopping at Rhodes along the way. There they learn that Habrocomes and Anthia had not returned home and that their parents had died of old age and despair. They decide to remain in Rhodes until they can learn more.

Meanwhile Anthia, in order to avoid working as a prostitute, feigns a cataleptic fit and later declares that she suffers from the “sacred disease.” Habrocomes takes up work as a stonecutter in Nuceria

Nocera Inferiore

Nocera Inferiore, formerly Nocera dei Pagani, is a town and comune in Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno, at the foot of Monte Albino, 20 km east-south-east of Naples by rail.-History:...

, Italy.

Hippothoos, out of poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

, marries a rich old woman to inherit her fortune when she dies. After that, he acquires the love of a younger man, Clisthenes, and sails with him to Italy to purchase slaves and luxuries. In Tarentum he encounters Anthia, whom he recognizes as the woman he’d thrown in the pit with the dogs. He purchases her from the brothel keeper, then takes her home when he learns her story, including that she is the missing wife of Habrocomes.

When Habrocomes can no longer endure stonecutting, he makes his way home to Ephesus, stopping at Syracuse to mourn the recent death of Aigialeus, then continuing on to Rhodes. There, in the temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

 of the sun, he chances to meet Leucon and Rhode.

Meanwhile, Hippothoos decides to take Anthia home to Ephesus; he and Clisthenes will also move there. The group stops briefly at Rhodes. During the festival of the sun, Anthia encounters Leucon and Rhode at the temple of Isis. Eventually Habrocomes finds them all. Then everyone, including Hippothoos and Clisthenes, shares their stories. Habrocomes and Anthia confirm to each other that they have been faithful all during their travails. The next day they all set sail together for Ephesus. Habrocomes and Anthia make sacrifices to Artemis

Artemis

Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...

, raise tombs for their deceased parents, and pass the remainder of their days in Ephesus with Leucon, Rhode, Hippothoos, and Clisthenes.

External links

• Hodoi Elektronikai: Ensembles hypertextes A number of Ancient Greek works (including Ephesian Tale, scroll down to XÉNOPHON D'ÉPHÈSE) with original text and French translation. Université catholique de Louvain.
• Anthia and Habrocomes A Latin translation from the original Greek made by Aloys. Emeric. Liber Baro Locella, Vienna, 1796, revised by Gerard Helzel, Hamburg, 2001.