In the last decade, Greek fiction has gained increasing attention as a result of new theoretical approaches to the subject--gender studies, narrative theory and the social analysis of ancient literature among them. This volume aims to broaden the terms of the study of Greek fiction while providing the beginner with a synoptic treatment of the most important works. Greeks began writing prose fiction in the 4th century BC and the tradition continued for a millennium and a half. Fictional modes were used not only for entertaining romances but as a framework for Christian and Jewish religious literature and for quasi-historical works or "historical novels." The contributors to this volume, rather than focusing on the usual roster of Greek fiction writers--Xenophon of Ephesus, Heliodorus, Longus, Chariton and Achilles Tatius among them--instead widen the terms of this debate and set new parameters for the study of Greek fiction, enabling the reader to view the spectrum of Greek fictional writing.