Ethiopic - Heliodorus (III century. BC e.)

Literature of antiquity and the Middle Ages - Summary - 2019

Ethiopic
Heliodorus (III century. BC e.)

The native of Phenicia from the city of Emess (Hellenized and predominantly with the Greek population), Heliodorus had a spiritual dignity. It is known: the local synod, believing that "Ethiopika" corrupts the youth, has demanded from Heliodorus to burn his book publicly or to refuse the priesthood. And Heliodorus preferred the second one.

Presumably, the events of the novel relate to V or IV in. until e The place of the initial action is North Africa (Egyptian coast).

The beautiful HarilKay and the mighty handsome Teagen fell in love with each other and secretly got engaged. But fate prepared them a lot of hard tests. The young Hellenes have to flee from Delphi, where they met and met in the Pythian games (sacred celebrations dedicated to Apollo).

At the beginning of the novel, they fall into captivity to the Egyptian robbers from the warlike tribe of the Bulls (Moalapas) and get acquainted with their compatriot - the Athenian Knemon. He is also a prisoner, he becomes not only a translator but also a faithful companion of Teagena and Hariclee.

Knemon was also forced to leave his homeland, fearing to revenge his stepmother, who was irresponsibly in love with him.

The noble beauty of Teagena and Caricelia is so exalted that the Moons will first take them for the heavens. The leader of the robbers Thiamid falls in love with the Hellenic and, traditionally considering it to be her prey, is going to marry Hariklee.

The son of the Memphis prophet, Thiamid, became the leader of the robbers only because of the spit of a younger brother, who took his right to a hereditary priesthood.

And during the described events, as a noble person, he calls the people to the meeting and appeals to his associates on parole with a request to give him a beautiful Helleneck in return for the laid-back portion of the captured wealth: "... not from the need for pleasures, but for my offspring will be this a prisoner - so I decided ... ... First of all, it is of noble origin, it seems to me. I judge this by the jewels she had found from her, and by how she could not succumb to her misfortunes, but retains the same spiritual nobility as in her former fate. Then, I feel in her a good and chaste soul. If she is the winner of all women, if she worships all women, if the shrewdness of her eyes brings respect to everyone who sees her, is it not natural that she makes everyone think about herself? But this is what matters most: she seems to me to be the priestess of a god, so as to throw off the sacred garments and the crown, she even considers misfortune something horrible and unacceptable. I urge all those present to judge whether there can be a more fit companion than a man of the sort of prophets and a girl dedicated to the deity? "

The people approve of his decision. And smart and far-sighted Harikleya also does not recite. After all, she is really a priestess of Artemis, elected by lot for a year. And Teagen (whom she gives for her brother for safety reasons) serves Apollo.

Chariklae only asks for a wedding while they arrive in a city where there is an altar or a temple of Apollon or Artemis to seal the priesthood there. Thaiamid and the people agree with her. Especially since they are preparing to storm Memphis, where to play a wedding will be decent and worthy than here, in the lair of robbers.

But suddenly another, more numerous detachment attacked them, beset by not only rich profits: the Petosyrid, the younger brother of Thiomid, who remains in Memphis, wants to neutralize the applicant for a priestly post, promising a great reward for his capture. In an unequal battle Thiamid was captured. And everything that is on the island of robbers is committed to the fire.

The miraculous surviving Teagen and Hariklei, together with Knemon, manage to escape (from the cave where they hid) from the marsh island of the Voropas. After another adventure, the Hellenes meet a noble elder - an Egyptian Kalasirida from Memphis.

In due time, Calasirid, the chief prophet of the Isis Temple in Memphis, goes to voluntary exile, and falls into Hellas, the holy city of Delphi, in order to avoid yielding to temptation (suddenly flaring up the passion for a beautiful frakyian). There he, received affectionately and graciously, gets acquainted with the Hellenic sages who see in him a fellow in spirit and knowledge.

One of the Delphic wise men, Haricl, told Calasirida how, in difficult years, he also wandered across different cities and countries. He also visited Egypt. There, at the Nile rapids, in the city of Katadupi, he, in mysteriously romantic circumstances, becomes the adoptive father of a divinely beautiful girl: she was entrusted by an Ethiopian ambassador who came to the city to negotiate with the Persian satrap about the rights to own emerald spears: because of them Persians Ethiopians had a long argument ...

Got Haricle and several precious items that were with a girl. The silk ribbon was skillfully woven Ethiopian letters, from which it was evident: Harillya is the daughter of the Ethiopian king Gi-daspa and Queen Persinna. They did not have children for a long time. Finally Persin became pregnant and gave birth to a white-haired girl. And this happened because she was always admiring the image of Andromeda, a mythical princess saved by Perseus from a sea monster. Percey with Andromeda, along with other gods and heroes, considered the Ethiopians as their ancestors ...

Being unreasonably feared that when he saw a white child, Gidast would suspect her of betrayal, Persin gave her daughter a reliable person, providing her with careful things through which the child could be would recognize

So, the grown up and blossoming of Delphi, Hariclea is dedicated to Artemis. And only the flourishing love for Teagan helps the beautiful priestess to renounce the eternal virginity. She agrees to become a bride. Yes, while only a bride, but not a wife. That kind of chaste love at the level of hugs and kisses is the spiritual core of the whole novel.

Calassirida in the bear's dream Apollo and Artemis are instructed to take care of a beautiful couple and return with them to their homeland: "... be their companion, consider them on par with their children and bring them from the Egyptians there and as God desires ”

There is another moving spring of the plot: Calassirid, it turns out, is the father of a noble priest-thief Thiamid and insidious Petosyrida.

Meanwhile, Charicle in Delphi dreams of giving Hariclee for his nephew Alcamene. But the girl is disgusted even by his kind. She only loves Teagena.

Following the orders of the gods and his own desire, Calasirid (among other things, he helped Teagen and Hariklee to open each other) along with the beautiful enthusiasts running on a ship from Hellas to Egypt ...

Thaiamid, after brutal trials and fighting, finally returns to Memphis, and Calasirid hugs involuntarily reconciled sons, the eldest of whom deservedly occupies the place of the prophet in the temple of Isis ...

Meanwhile, having defeated the army of the Persian satrap of Oronadata, guided by the Guidapos, the Ethiopians will grant the merciful world to the defeated, capturing innumerable treasures. And the most important of their trophies was a god-like cheat: for the time being, Teagen and Charikleya become prisoners. But the Ethiopians look at them with adoration: beauty conquers all independently of the way of life and color of the skin. However, next to the beautiful neighboring terrible: Teagen and Hariclea must be sacrificed to the gods of the winners.

But the girl feels solemnly that when the long-awaited meeting takes place, the parents will not renounce their daughter even for the sake of the sacred customs of their people.

... Winners and captives - already in the Ethiopian capital Meroi. Still not knowing Persynya is struck by the look of a beautiful Hellenic: "If it were given to survive the only time conceived by me and the grudgingly lost daughter, she would probably have been as old as this."

Karillya rises boldly on a burning altar. And the fire retreats, testifying to its innocence. It also proved its purity and Teagen. And then, against this beautiful and at the same time terrible sacrifice, the wise men, the hymnsofists, and then the whole nation, rise first.

Harikleya unexpectedly requires a court for all: it is allowed to sacrifice strangers, but not local natives! And immediately he presents a precious bandage with the history of his birth and the ring of the Guidasp himself.

Sizimitr, a wise man present here, admits that this, being an Ethiopian ambassador to Egypt, handed the little Hariklee Hellen to Harikla. Here, the servants bring a picture depicting Andromeda and Perseus, and all are shocked by the similarity of the real and mythical tsarev.

But the fate of Teagen has not yet been resolved. He brilliantly withstands two unexpected trials: he tame the raging sacrificial bull and defeats a huge and boastful Ethiopian fighter in a duel. Harilike finally reveals to Mother that Teagen is her husband. And Sisimitre reminds us that the gods express their will quite definitely: they inspired fear and confusion in the horses and bulls standing before the altars, and then they made it clear that the sacrifices, which were considered perfect, were completely rejected. And he exclaims: "Let's proceed to cleanse the victims by canceling human sacrifices for eternal times!" And concludes: "But I associate this four with marriage laws and allow them to be united with bonds for birth!"

Then, already fully sighted and softened, Gidasp places the young and sacred crowns on the heads - the signs of the priesthood (before they were worn by him and Persin). And the final words of the novel: "Such an end was the Ethiopian story about Teagene and Chariklee. She wrote a man of a Phoenician from Emesa, of the kind of Helios, son of Theodosius of Heliodorus."