Places: Daphnis and Chloë

First transcribed: Poimenika ta kata Daphnin kai Chloen, third century c.e. (English translation, 1587)

Type of work: Fiction

Type of plot: Pastoral

Time of work: Indeterminate

Asterisk denotes entries on real places.

Places Discussed*Lesbos

*Lesbos Daphnis and Chloë (LEHS-bohs). Greek island in the Aegean Sea on which actions centers on two cities: Methymna and Mytilene. Methymna is a city believed to be named after a daughter of King Makara, who was married to Lesbos of Thessaly, the namesake of the island. Within a century of the time when Daphnis and Chloë was written, Methymna suffered from a series of raids. The individuals from this place seem different from Daphnis and Chloë and the rest of the people in their environment; they are outsiders.

The other important city on Lesbos is Mytilene, which is named after another of King Makara’s daughters. Daphne and Chloë opens here, describing the city as beautiful and idyllic. Like the people in Methymna, Mytilene’s people are seen as outsiders and are quite different from the book’s main characters.

Philetas’s garden

Philetas’s garden (fih-leh-TAHZ). Place described by the old man, Philetas, as the setting in which he sees “Love” in the form of a child. The boy has wings, is handsome, carries a bow, and appears much like the image readers would have of Cupid on Valentine’s Day. The old man speaks with the god called Love and is told he is lucky to have envisioned him, because he is the only old man in the world who has seen Love, the protector and guardian of those youths in love whom he seeks.

Cave dedicated to the nymphs

Cave dedicated to the nymphs. Sanctuary where Chloë is discovered as a baby being suckled by a ewe with her own golden tokens: a girdle, sandals, and anklets. The cave is an important locale because Daphnis and Chloë spend time there talking, bathing, and sacrificing to the nymphs who protect them in times of need. The cave’s spring symbolizes new life, rebirth, paradise, and the beauty of nature, as well as Chloë’s true origin.

Woods

Woods. Place where Daphnis is originally found, as he is being suckled by a goat; and beside him are a little purple cloak, a gilded brooch, and a dagger with an ivory hilt. The location is as vague and uncertain as the origin of Daphnis himself until the end of the work. When Daphnis is finally taught his lesson of love in the woods, the setting seems much deeper and in a thicker area of the woods where Chloë has never been. Through this second description, the reader is made aware that the “deeper” woods and Lycaenion represent the loss of innocence for Daphnis. Since Chloë is still a maiden, this location remains unknown to her.

Dionysophanes’s estate

Dionysophanes’s estate (di-oh-nih-SO-fuh-neez). Ground in which Lamon and Myrtale live in a cottage and tend to a farm. Daphnis grows up and reaches maturity here as well. This place is significant because it depicts the true nature of Daphnis’s existence. Within the grounds are the temple of Dionysus and a spring named after Daphnis.

*Aegean Sea

*Aegean Sea. The sea surrounding Lesbos signifies all that is tumultuous, violent, and disruptive of a peaceful existence: Pirates invade, and Daphnis is beaten; Chloë is kidnapped; and a boat is lost to sea for which the herdsmen are blamed. This setting simultaneously represents the happiness that Daphnis is to have with Chloë as a result of the treasure he is to find there under the direction of the nymphs in a dream.

Bibliography

Barber, Giles. Daphnis and Chloë: The Markets and Metamorphoses of an Unknown Bestseller. London: The British Library, 1989. The text of the 1988 Panizzi Lectures. A fascinating study of the bibliographic history of the work and its reception by various audiences.Longus. Daphnis and Chloë. Translated by Jack Lindsay. London: Daimon Press, 1948. Lindsay discusses in an essay the mythological background of the story, comparing Greek nature myths to Babylonian and Celtic ones, and analyzing the significance of the names contained in the narrative.Longus. Daphnis and Chloë. Translated by George Thornley and with an introduction by J. M. Edwards. New York: Putnam, 1924. The Thornley translation is revised and augmented by J. M. Edwards, whose introduction details the various manuscript sources. There is a useful appendix on the origins of the work.Longus. The Pastoral Loves of Daphnis and Chloë. Translated and with an introduction by George Moore. London: Heinemann, 1924. Moore’s introduction is cast as a dialogue between himself and Thomas Whittaker, in which the merits of the text and the need for a new translation are considered at length.Longus. The Story of Daphnis and Chloë. Translated, annotated, and edited by W. D. Lowe. Cambridge, England: Deighton Bell, 1908. Perhaps the most useful edition for academic purposes, by courtesy of the elaborate annotations.