Resurrection Parallels in Fiction

This is a 'highlights package' of six Greek novels summarised by The Petronian Society Ancient Novel Page, five of which have an apparent death that later proves to be false.

Please add a comment to this page if you are aware of any others.

Chariton: "Chaireas and Callirhoe"

When disgruntled suitors cause Chaireas to believe Callirhoe is having an affair, Chaireas kicks her so savagely that she falls into a coma. Callirhoe is lavishly buried in a state funeral. The graverobber Theron rescues her, takes her to Ionia, and sells her to Dionysios, the richest man in Miletus.

Achilles Tatius: "Leukippe and Kleitophon"

Kleitophon, in deep despair, decides that night to go outside the camp and kill himself upon the coffin which he believes holds the dead Leukippe. But as he prepares to stab himself, Menelaus and Satyros, whom Kleitophon had supposed to be drowned, run up and stop him. To his amazement, they summon a living Leukippe out of the coffin!

Heliodorus: "Ethiopian Story"

Knemon keeps Theagenes, who thinks Charicleia has died, from committing suicide. They go to the cave and discover the dead woman, whom they assume is Charicleia. Theagenes, as he laments her and prepares to commit suicide, hears Charicleia answer his laments. He assumes it is merely her spirit, but Knemon turns over the body and finds out it is -- Thisbe ! -- and faints. They then find Charicleia and the couple have an emotional reunion.

Appolonius, King of Tyre.

While they are at sea, Apollonius’ wife gives birth to a daughter, but apparently dies in childbirth. Apollonius becomes mad with grief. The steersman of the ship insists that it is impossible to sail with a corpse on board. Apollonius has his craftsmen make an elaborate (and watertight) coffin, into which he puts his wife’s body and 20,000 gold sesterces. The coffin is tossed overboard, which comes to rest on the shore near Ephesus. A doctor discovers it and orders the coffin taken to his home. When he opens the coffin, he sees the gold and the note left by Apollonius, asking whoever discovers the body to give it proper burial. When Apollonius' wife is about to be cremated, a student of the doctor notices that she is in fact still alive, although in a coma. With effort the woman is revived.

Xenophon of Ephesus: Ephesian Romance

Meanwhile, Anthia's wedding day approaches. She gets Eudoxos, a doctor of Ephesus, to give her a deadly drug in order to commit suicide. But the drug, which she takes on her wedding day, is merely a sleeping potion, and thus Anthia is entombed alive, wakes up, but is saved by robbers, to whom she declares she has been consecrated to Love and Death. But instead of leaving her to die, the graverobbers take her as a slave and sail to Alexandria, where she is given to slave dealers. ...

Meanwhile Habrocomes is ordered crucified, but, while on the cross, he prays to the Nile and to the Sun. The wind rises and casts his cross into the Nile, and he is fished out. Habrocomes is then sentenced to be burned at the stake, but the Nile's flood puts out the flames.

Summary

There are two interesting categories here: mistaken deaths and miraculous deliverances.

On mistaken deaths, there appears to be no particular connection with the gospels here, unless the Greek writers of the gospels appropriated or inherited a few conventions of style for writing about tombs and burials. In Greek novels apparent deaths are are plot devices rather like in Romeo and Juliet; such misunderstandings offer tragedy or drama; we would never think in any other context of Juliet's resurrection from apparent death -- that would be quite a stretch.

On miraculous deliverances, like Habrocomes (though he was merely delivered from great danger), there is the obvious similarity that God or a god intervenes to rescue a protagonist. In a drama the sensation value of the classical deus ex machina is obvious, reflects well on the G/god and character, and allows the story to reset the tension meter and move on. There are some significant differences with the gospels in these regards.

In the gospels Jesus' death is obviously not presented as a a misunderstanding. It does not drive or develop a romantic plot, but rather places Jesus in the Jewish prophetic tradition of righteous suffering, and sets up his vindication by God (amongst other things) in a way consistent with the Jewish intertestamental hope of resurrection and, relatedly, of Messianic deliverance. So the story of Jesus in the Gospels ends with death and resurrection, rather than using an apparent death to develop pathos over the adventures of thus separated lovers. Thus too, his miraculous deliverance is not presented simply as a sensational event.

Additionally, several characteristic themes of these Greek dramas are absent from the gospels. These include enslavement, world travel, the affairs of the noble and wealthy, and romantic suicide. Where one or more of the Greek protagonists is linked with the gods in some way (such as by Zeus' philandering with human women) this motivates the god's further involvement in the tale, allowing the writer the convenience of deus ex machina as required, and the glamour and sensation of appropriately divine qualities in his protagonists: beauty, wealth and noble birth. Excepting the visit of the Magi, these qualities are difficult to find in any of the gospels or Paul's letters: Jesus is presented as a physically unremarkable peasant.