2026 Theses Doctoral

Bodies of Knowledge. Norm and Resistance in the Greek Novel

Spacciante, Valeria

This dissertation exposes the issues of social exclusion implied in processes of canonization both in Greek literary history and in the theoretical spaces meant to discuss them. It takes as its primary material the ancient novels, a group of prose narratives from the Roman imperial era which is today considered peripheral to the classical canon, but which I show engage closely with canonicity to question Hellenocentrism through their narrative form.

I analyze recurring scenes of violence and physical suffering across the five so-called “ideal” Greek novels (Callirhoe, Ephesiaca, Daphnis and Chloe, Leucippe and Clitophon and Aethiopica), to argue that these texts use well-established narrative patterns from the Greek literary corpus to favor the Greek-educated imperial class at the expense of the many other social actors represented in the novels, and who for the most part populated the Roman empire at the time. By illustrating how the ancient novels utilize canonical literary situations to exclude non-elite characters from the narrative, my project foregrounds marginalized perspectives to showcase the complex relationship between canonization and social exclusion.