The novel of Achilles Tatius, Leucippe and Clitophon (early 2^nd c. AD), one of five love novels that survive complete from Graeco-Roman antiquity, stands out from the others by its frequent use of strong and explicit humour. There is an ever-increasing amount of scholarship on the ancient novel in general, and on Achilles Tatius in particular. This book engages with recent debates and supports the view that Leucippe and Clitophon should be read primarily as a humorous novel and a satirical reworking of the romantic tradition.

The book starts with an up-to-date introduction to the author and his novel. Further chapters include the first full account of the novel’s reception and an original exploration of its comic and satirical intertexts, which provide new interpretive keys to the novel. A running commentary then guides the reader through the novel, shedding light on its humorous construction of the conventional romantic plot and characters.

It is hoped that students and scholars of Achilles Tatius, and generally of the ancient novel, will find in this volume a useful aid to the reading of Leucippe and Clitophon. The book’s original insights in this novel’s comic dimension, reception, and literary context should further be of interest to classicists and literary historians alike.