Abstract:

In a social and religious context li ke the ancient Greek world, where the male chastity is not an absolute value, it is surprising to note that the characters in the ancient Greek novel regularly restrain their sexual passions, especially considering the markedly erotic atmosphere of these works. When searching for a narrative referring to this characterization, the most plausible is that the construction of this idealized rejection of passions comes, ultimately, from the only place where there is an ample development in Greek literature: biography of philosophers. We shall, therefore, briefly follow the development of the topic of chastity among both genders, biography and ancient Greek novel, which opens the way for subsequent hagiography, to note that in ancient times, not always omnia uinc it amor.