Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Gre

Robert Cioffi, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Greek Novel (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024).  9780192870537.

Reviewed by Khadija Saigol, University of Victoria, ksaigol@uvic.ca.

Cioffi’s monograph,Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Greek Novel: Between Resistance and Representation explores how Egypt, Ethiopia (modern Sudan), and Nubia function as thematic loci for the ancient Greek romance novels written between the first and the third or fourth century CE. Cioffi outlines the geographic importance of the Nile River Valley and showcases how these lands were depicted in unison with Greco-Roman ethnographic traditions. Cioffi grounds his analysis in two interlinked concepts: representation and resistance. Representationaccentuates the ever-changing depiction of the Nile River Valley and how the image of Egypt and Ethiopia was shaped by the Greco-Roman ethnographic tradition. Resistance, according to Cioffi, denotes how the novels frequently depict Egypt and Ethiopia as symbolic space for rebellion and resistance to imperial power. Through their work, scholars such as Tim Whitmarsh, Daniel Selden, and Greg Woolf have drawn attention to questions of cultural interactions and hybridity.1 Whitmarsh’s work understands the Greek romance novels as narratives shaped by tension between the desire for closure and return, and episodes of wandering. Expressions of identity are not limited to the self but also reflect the cultural and political realities. Cioffi examines the creation of cultural identities and the interplay between Egyptian and Greek literary traditions within the Roman empire. Cioffi’s project successfully reframes the discussion of Egypt, beyond its perception as a locus of magic, mystique, and independence, and instead considers how Greek authors envisaged Egypt. Cioffi’s monograph is an ambitious and comprehensive study of Greek romance novels that offers a rich interpretation of Greek romance and the Nile River Valley. However, the book’s vast scope causes some structural issues—namely, some sections end too abruptly, only to be picked up again in a subsequent chapter, causing some difficulty with cohesion and flow. 

Cioffi begins by tying the earlier Greek novels, Chariton’s Chaereas and Callirhoe and Xenophon’s An Ephesian Tale, to the theme of resistance. The argument is rooted in the pervasiveness of the Isiac religion and instances of revolts in Egypt. In Chariton’s novel, Cioffi re-examines the theme of resistance by centering the discussion around how “revolts” in the text not only allude to historical events but are foregrounded in how Greek authors perceived the topos of revolt as central to Egypt. The author argues that both the direct political opposition in Chariton’s novel, and a more discursive resistance in Xenophon through the influence of the Egyptian goddess, Isis, attest to the desire for Egyptian independence. Cioffi argues that Xenophon evokes themes of resistance by drawing upon the pervasiveness of Egyptian religious traditions, particularly the goddess Isis. Although the novel is set during an indefinite period, Cioffi notes how the Roman Empire looms over the narrative, from imperial titles to the presence of the city of Alexandria. The empire, however, is in constant tension with Egyptian identity, and Cioffi cements his point by showcasing the influence of the goddess Isis. However, the structural issues are already evident in the opening chapter. The discussion of Isis’s appearance in the final book of Apuleius’s The Golden Ass in connection with An Ephesian Tale seems out of place and precedes the central discussion of Xenophon’s book. The section is too brief for the scope of the discussion and distracts from the overall flow and structure of the book. However, it is a promising avenue for future research. Indeed, Isis and the influence of the romance novels in Apuleius merit their own independent research projects as the text is a palimpsest of cultural themes, influences, and traditions.

 Cioffi’s project contributes more broadly to the discussion of cultural hybridization. For instance, the author argues that the characterization of Alexander in The Romance is representative of the fusion of Greek and Egyptian culture. In the second chapter, Cioffi touches on cultural hybridization and creation of identity again, by drawing out how the phoenix in Achilles Tatius’s Leucippe and Clitophon straddles both Egyptian and Greek culture. In particular, he argues that the phoenix, like the landscape of Egypt, remains out of the control of the narrator, the reader, and the empire itself, and in doing so, Cioffi intertwines his theme of resistance to scholarly discussions surrounding cultural hybridization and identity creation. The imposition of Egyptian traditions in the face of imperial authority is emblematic of local resistance.

In the fourth chapter, Cioffi argues that Heliodorus’ counterfactual representation of Alexandria as a deserted city rather than a lively trading hub is an apocalyptic fiction of sorts, which, in the Egyptian tradition, culminates in restoration of order and Egyptian self-rule. Cioffi’s chapter presents a novel interpretation of An Ethiopian Story by foregrounding it in Egyptian apocalyptic texts. The argument nuances discussions surrounding the representations of Alexandria in the Greek novels as a locus of cultural hybridization, which subverts the imperializing authority and allows for the amalgamation of indigenous traditions. Cioffi demonstrates how Heliodorus’ rendering of Alexandria as deserted signifies, in the Egyptian tradition, the re-establishment of Egyptian autonomy. 

In the fifth chapter, Cioffi puts forth a reading that takes Heliodorus’ picture of Egypt in An Ethiopian Story, with itsdistortions and omissions as part of the author’s narrative rather than evidence of careless writing. The author constructs a ‘narrative of displacement,’ which is both reflective of the story’s protagonists uprooted in a foreign land and in a temporal sense – of an Egypt torn between the Persian and the Ethiopian empires.2 Cioffi argues that Egypt in Heliodorus’ tale is less about the features of the land; instead, he states that it was shaped by the experiences of the novel’s actors. The story is one rooted in hybridity, and Cioffi surveys the history of scholarship about the Greek novels to emphasize a departure from binary readings, specifically, those offered by Kerenyi, who focused on the centrality of Isis.3 Isis’ importance is not to be understated, however, Cioffi argues that binding the narrative to a singular deity is reductive. The chapter shows that through distorting dominant traditions, Heliodorus engages with the theme of resistance. Through omitting the bustling centers of Alexandria and Thebes, Heliodorus rewrites the geography of Roman Egypt. 

Cioffi’s discussion considers The Ethiopica in relation to the kingdom of Meroë to explore imperial power. The author’s reading of the text produces an analysis foregrounded in language and cultural tradition. Specifically, Cioffi argues that the word τέλος, meaning both ‘ritual’ and ‘end,’ encapsulates key linguistic and cultural tensions within the story.4 Firstly, the protagonist’s marriage marks the completion of one ritual and the end of the tradition of human sacrifice in Meroitic society. Cioffi’s reading situates the novel as a commentary on cultural hybridity and empire arguing that Heliodorus’ depiction of Meroë as a thriving and powerful state juxtaposed against its diminished contemporary reality during the author’s lifetime speaks to the ethos of empires: that they too, come to an end.

 Cioffi undoubtedly has tackled a monumental task in his examination of all the Greek romance novels. The scope of the project, the sheer wealth of material, and the abundance of intertextual connections has inevitably led to some minor structural problems. Following his discussion of Heliodorus’s work, Cioffi shifts his focus to Achilles Tatius and the significance of the crocodile. The abrupt shift is jarring and disruptive to the structure of the chapter by leaving the section on Heliodorus seemingly incomplete. Cioffi returns to the discussion of apocalyptic fiction in Heliodorus again after a discussion on Achilles Tatius’s work.  However, it is important to note that Cioffi’s readers will be a specialized audience who are familiar with the texts and, as such, have less trouble returning to previous arguments.

In the monograph’s epilogue, Cioffi discusses the didactic nature of reading, of how texts resonate with readers, informing, interpreting, and analyzing subjects. The epilogue explores the reception of the ancient novels during the Renaissance where the travels of ancient protagonists edified Europe’s own colonial exploits. Cioffi discusses Gomberville’s Polexandre as a response to Heliodorus’ An Ethiopian Tale. Gomberville is not merely an imitator of Heliodorus but rather an emulator. According to Cioffi, Gomberville’s plot is centered around travel and exploration, but surpasses even Heliodorus’ abstractions or reimagining of topography by the continuous efforts of the protagonist to reach an unknown and unreachable isle. The isle, for Cioffi represents a stark departure from the colonial agenda and is perhaps an echo of resistance and the limits of colonial power. Cioffi demonstrates the ever-changing nature of the reception of ancient novels, from signifying resistance to imperial power, to the veneration of exploration for the colonial mind. The epilogue leaves the reader to ponder the indelible mark left by the ancient sources and how they aided in shaping the European colonial mindset. The meanings of the ancient texts are continually negotiated among readers and cultures who form their own unique connections with these works, and for Cioffi, resistance is foremost where narratives of power and identity are concerned. 

Cioffi’s monograph abounds with innovative ways to interpret the Romance novels, such as his riveting discussions on “apocalyptic fiction” in the Egyptian tradition and the symbolism of mythical creatures like the phoenix. Undoubtedly, Cioffi’s monograph will be of great interest to scholars of imperialism and Egyptian studies as well as graduate students who have an interest in the reception of ancient literature and cultural hybridization. Through his discussion of representation, Cioffi draws out instances of cultural hybridization and performance, particularly in The Alexander Romance. It should not be understated that this is the first monograph to discuss how the regions of Egypt and Ethiopia are represented in literature, as Cioffi states, and that alone cements its place as a valuable addition to the corpus of scholarly literature on the Greek novels, cultural hybridization, and imperialism.

Table of Contents

Introduction: In the Month of Hathor (1–25)
1. Religion, Revolt, and Rome in Chariton, Xenophon of Ephesus, and Apuleius (26–58)
2. Where the Wild Things Are: Achilles Tatius and Egyptian Animals (59–90)
3. The Lives of Others: The Boukoloi, the Nile Delta, and the Frontiers of Knowledge in Achilles Tatius (91–124)
4. Alexandria and Apocalypse: Representation, Resistance, and Time (125–55)
5. An Ethiopian Story in Egypt (156–94)
6. The Ends of Ethiopia in Heliodorus’s An Ethiopian Story (195–231)
Epilogue. Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Americas: The Greek Novels’ Early Modern Readers (231–38)

Notes

1. Tim Whitmarsh. Narrative and Identity in the Ancient Greek Novel: Returning Romance. Cambridge University Press. 2011; Greg Wolf. Becoming Roman:The Origins of Provincial Civilization in Gaul. Cambridge University Press, 1998; Daniel L. Selden, “Guardians of Chaos: The Coptic Alexander Romance,” Journal of Coptic Studies 13 (2011): 117–55.

2. Cioffi, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Greek Novel: Between Representation and Resistance, 192.

3. Cioffi, Egypt, Ethiopia, 13. ; Karl Keyerni, Die Griechisch-Orientalische Romanliteratur in Religionsgeschichtlicher Beleuchtung (Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1927).

4. Cioffi, Egypt, Ethiopia, 198.