Rome in the Greek Novel? Images and Ideas of Empire in Chariton's Persia

The Greek novels exploited the trope of the Persian king in order to comment indirectly on the reconciliation between the ideals of Hellenic autonomy and the reality of life under imperial rule. In Chaereas and Callirhoe, the heroine's two husbands take alternate approaches to the fact of empireÑone enjoys autonomy beyond the empire's frontiers, the other becomes a benefactor of the emperor himself. The trials in the Persian capital affirm that imperial power is good as long as it acknowledges the superiority of Hellenic values and, importantly, awards them a place in the empire.