A pastoral romance. Daphnis and Chloe, foundlings raised by shepherds on Lesbos, discover love in the countryside. The most beautiful of the Greek novels — sensual, innocent, and perfectly constructed.
Start ReadingTwo foundlings, Daphnis and Chloe, grow up as goatherd and shepherdess on Lesbos. They begin to feel the first stirrings of love but have no name for what they feel.
Rivals appear: a cowherd pursues Chloe, and a city girl pursues Daphnis. Pirates raid the coast. Daphnis and Chloe are separated and reunited, their love deepening.
A wealthy suitor tries to buy Chloe. War threatens the countryside. Daphnis learns about sex from an older woman, but Chloe remains innocent. Their idyll is increasingly fragile.
Winter. The lovers are kept apart by weather and by Chloe's new suitors. True identities are revealed — both are children of wealthy families, exposed at birth. They marry at last.