Narrative aspects of Callirhoe’s tomb

Abstract

In Chariton’s Callirhoe the heroine’s tomb and burial receive attention unparalleled in ancient Greek novels. As the physical manifestations of apparent death, they point either to death or to (anticipated) “resurrection” or to both, with reference not only to Callirhoe but also to Chaereas. Of the two major reappearances of Callirhoe’s tomb, at Miletus and Syracuse, the former (real) reproduces and the latter (metaphorical) inverts the initial burial. There is a prominent association in the novel beween tomb and ship in terms of identification, reversal, and proximity, as well as an intriguing one between tomb and bedchamber. The narrative suggests that Callirhoe’s tomb encloses her bridal chamber, and later the heroine becomes aware that not only was she buried alive but carried Chaereas’ child in her womb and Chaereas’ image on her ring. This reality will later affect the lives of both Chaereas and the unborn child. The Appendix discusses Seneca’s Troades, Act 3, where Andromache hides her son Astyanax in Hector’s tomb, as a possibly contemporary parallel to Callirhoe’s tomb. It also rejects the widespread association of Jesus’ empty tomb and resurrection with Callirhoe’s empty tomb and “resurrection”.