Chariton‎'‎s Callirhoe‎,‎ subtitled ‎"‎Love Story in Syracuse‎"‎‎,‎ is the oldest extant novel‎.‎ It is a fast‎-paced historical romance with ageless charm‎.‎ Chariton narrates the adventures of a strikingly beautiful young bride named Callirhoe‎,‎ beginning with her abduction by pirates ‎- adventures that take her as far as the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes and involve shipwrecks‎,‎ several ardent suitors‎,‎ an embarrassing pregnancy‎,‎ the hazards of war‎,‎ and a happy ending‎.‎ Animated dialogue captures dramatic situations‎,‎ and the novelist takes us on picturesque travels‎.‎ His skill makes us enthralled spectators of plots and counter‎-plots‎,‎ at trials and a crucifixion‎,‎ inside a harem‎,‎ among the admiring crowd at weddings‎,‎ and at battles on land and sea‎.‎ This enchanting tale is here made available for the first time in an English translation facing the Greek text‎.‎ In his Introduction G‎.‎ P‎.‎ Goold establishes the book‎'‎s date in the first century A‎.‎D‎.‎ and relates it to other ancient fiction‎.‎