Xenophon Ephesius
b. fl. c. 2nd century AD
Xenophon of Ephesus was a Greek novelist, probably of the second century AD. His Ephesiaca (An Ephesian Tale) is one of the five extant ancient Greek novels. It tells the story of Habrocomes and Anthia, a young couple separated by pirates and slavers before being reunited.
The Ephesiaca may be an abridgement of a longer work — its five books feel compressed. The novel is not a masterpiece of style, but it is a lively story that gives us valuable evidence for the conventions of ancient popular fiction and for daily life in Roman Asia Minor.