Longus the Novelist (Λόγγος ὁ μυθιστοριογράφος)

Life Longus is known only as the author of the Greek novel Daphnis and Chloe [1]. Stylistic analysis places him in the late 2nd or early 3rd century CE, within the cultural context of the Second Sophistic [1][2]. The pastoral setting on Lesbos suggests possible familiarity with the region, though this remains speculative [1].

Works His sole surviving work is the prose novel Daphnis and Chloe (Δάφνις καὶ Χλόη), written in four books in an Atticizing dialect [1][2].

Significance Longus authored one of the five complete ancient Greek novels [1]. Daphnis and Chloe is distinctive for its pastoral idealization and focus on innocent, natural love [1][2]. A key example of Second Sophistic prose revival, its depiction of erotic development and rural life profoundly influenced later European literature, opera, and ballet [1][2].

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Longus 2. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-3737