Heliodorus Emesenus or Heliodorus of Emesa (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Ἡλιόδωρος ὁ Ἐμεσηνός) is the author of the ancient Greek novel called the Aethiopica (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Αἰθιοπικά) or Theagenes and Chariclea (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Θεαγένης καὶ Χαρίκλεια), which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD.[1]
He identifies himself at the end of his work as
According to Tim Whitmarsh, 'from the race of the sun' "looks like a claim to hereditary priesthood," though "uncertainties" remain. According to The Cambridge History of Classical Literature, "the personal link here established between the writer and Helios has also a literary purpose, as has Calasiris' flashback narrative" .The later tradition maintaining that Heliodorus had become a Christian bishop is likely fictional.
Quoting Richard L. Hunter,
Other ancient Greek novelists: