Studying Callihroe is less of a literary enterprise and more of an archaeological one; scholars need to rely on complex techniques in order to find out more about the time in which this novel was written, and also to learn more about the characters in it, and its author. Evidence of the actual text itself was discovered on small fragments of papyrus and this suggests that the novel was most likely written in the middle of the First Century, which makes it the oldest surviving complete ancient prose romance in the world. It is also the only one that basis its story on real characters and events. It also contains examples from Greek mythology; for example, Callihroe is repeatedly compared to Aphrodite, and she invokes the goddess of love at the end of the novel. Callihroe is also the first example of an historical novel in that it bases much of the plot of events that had happened prior to writing.
We don't know much about the author, other than what he tells us in the novel. He introduces himself as "Chariton of Aphrodisias"and tells that he is Secretary of Athenagoras. The name Chariton means "man of graces" and scholars believe that the name is supposed to indicate the romantic theme of the book.
The story is a standard romance; boy meets girl, boy marries girl, girl gets kidnapped and marries boy who kidnapped her. Yet many of these events within the novel are based on fact. Hermocrates was a real-life Syracusan general, who had a daughter, and that daughter married Dionysius of Syracuse. The real Dionysius was not the romantic hero of the story, but in fact quite the tyrant. The son that Callihroe wants to return to Syracuse when he is an adult is likely based on the historical Dionysius' son succeeding him in Syracuse. Hermacrotes' daughter actually died after being attacked by soldiers; Chariton chose to "resurrect" her so that he could continue her story. Although many of the characters are based on real historical figures, they are not portrayed accurately, the author using a great deal of poetic license for purposes of his own idea of plot.
Chariton has relied upon the influence of many other writers, primarily Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon. The novel is primarily told in the form of direct speech, including monologue.
Five fragments of the novel on papyrus were discovered at Oxyrhchus, which suggests that the novel was very popular at the time. The writing is neat and careful, and the papyrus is expensive, which scholars believe proves that his readers were city dwellers who had the money to purchase literature.
