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Novel
(6,078 words)

[German version]

I. Definition

The term ‘novels’ and ‘romance’ are not ancient, but the latter dates from the Middle Ages, when it denoted a work written in the Romance vernacular. There was no specific term for the genre in Antiquity (drâma was common in Greek [1], fabula, in Latin, Apul. Met. 1.1, or argumentum, Macrob. Sat. In Somn. 1,2,8).

II. Greek

[German version]

A. Overview and development of the genre

In Greek literature, ‘novel’ denotes a series of texts of fictio…

Cite this page
Fusillo, Massimo (L'Aquila), Hofmann, Heinz (Tübingen) and Berger, Albrecht (Berlin), “Novel”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1024310>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510



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