On Incredible Things or Herpyllis is a lost work of Greek prose fiction by Antonius Diogenes, an author of the Imperial period, most likely active in the 2nd century CE. The work survives only through a detailed summary in the Bibliotheca of the 9th-century patriarch Photius and a small number of fragmentary papyrus texts. Its dual title connects it to the literary tradition of paradoxography, which catalogued marvels and unbelievable tales, while also suggesting a central heroine named Herpyllis. According to Photius, the narrative was extraordinarily elaborate, spanning twenty-four books. It featured a complex, nested structure beginning with a fictional frame story concerning the discovery of an ancient manuscript. The core plot follows the adventures and romantic trials of the protagonists Deinias and Dercyllis, whose travels take them to mythical locations such as Thule. Their journey is filled with supernatural encounters involving magic, ghosts, and oracles, and incorporates numerous secondary tales within the main narrative. The work is transmitted almost entirely through Photius's summary in codex 166 of his Bibliotheca; a few papyrus fragments, including one that mentions the character Deinias, have been tentatively identified as belonging to the novel. Antonius Diogenes's elaborate fusion of travelogue, romance, and the fantastical represents a significant forerunner of the later ancient Greek novel, establishing a model for intricate, episodic adventure that influenced subsequent writers in the genre, such as Heliodorus. Consequently, Photius's summary is an invaluable source for understanding the early development and thematic breadth of prose fiction in the ancient world.
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| col2 | . ] ἐποχαῖς παραλίαις δ̣[ . ]ξ̣ .... παρεκάλουν, δυσώρου τῆς καταστάσ[εως οὔσης] καὶ γὰρ ἐλάνθα[ν]εν ἐν ἐπισημασία[ις] ν̣[ ...... ] καθεστῶσα, μέ̣ν̣ε̣ι̣ν αὐτόθι τὴν ἐπ[ιοῦσαν] ἡμέ̣[ρ]α̣ν, ἐπιδοῦναί τ’ ε[ἰς] εὐφ̣ροσύνην· [ ..... ]στατος δὲ εἰς κατοχὴν ἀπ̣[ο]δη̣μίας οἰωνὸ[ς] ἀ̣ν̣[δρὸς εὐ]φροσύνου μετά[κ]λησις· κἀγὼ μὲν [ἐβ]ου[λόμη]ν μένειν· τῶν δὲ κ̣υβερνητῶν στασι̣[αζόντων, ὁ μὲν ἡ]μέτερος ἠπ̣ε̣ί̣γετο πλεῖν, [ὁ δὲ τῆς μεγάλης νεὼς] σ̣υνετεκμαίρετο χειμῶνα πλ̣ε̣ῖ̣σ̣[τον καὶ ἴσ]ως ἀνίκητον. ἔδοξεν οὖν πλεῖν· ἀσπασάμεν[οι] τοίνυν ἀλλήλ[ο]υς καὶ θρῆνον ἀλκυόνειον ἐγεί̣[ροντ]ες, εἰς τὴν ο[ἰ]κ̣ε̣[ί]α̣ν ἑκάτερος ἐμβάντε[ς] να̣ῦ̣ν ὠ[λο]φυρόμεθα, [σκ]οποῦντες ἀλλήλους φι̣[λή]μ̣ατά τ̣ε̣ τ̣α̣ῖ̣ς χερσὶ β[άλλο]ντες. ἡ μὲν οὖν με[γ]άλη ναῦς βραδύτερόν τι ἐ[ξ]ωπλίζετο, τάχιον δ’ ἡμεῖς ἐξ[επ]λεύσαμεν. ἡ̣λ̣ίου δ’ ὑπὸ μὲν τὸν ἔ̣κ̣π̣λ̣[ου]ν φ[α]ν̣έ̣ν̣[τος, αὐτίκα] δὲ ζοφεραῖς ἐγκρυβέντος νεφέλ[αι]ς, α[ἰ]φνίδιον κο[ῖ]λόν τε καὶ βραχὺ βροντήσα[ν]τος, ἡμεῖς μὲν οὐκέτ’ ἀναστρέψαι μεταν̣ο̣οῦντες ἐδυνάμεθα, πυκνὸν γὰρ εἵπετο π̣νεῦ̣μ̣[α] κ̣α̣τ̣ό̣π̣ι̣ν̣· ἡ δ̣ὲ̣ τῆς .. [ . ] . υ̣λλίδος ἄκατος οὐκέτ’ ἀν̣ή̣χ̣θη, κατέστη δ’ ἀπὸ το̣ῦ̣ τείχους ἀνακαλουμέν[η]. πρὸς βραχὺ δ̣’ ὁ̣ρῶντέ[ς σ]φας ἀφηρπαζόμεθα, πνε̣ῦ̣μα γὰρ ἄθρουν ἐγκ[ατέ]ρρηξεν ἀπηλι̣ω̣τ̣ι̣κ̣ὸ̣ν̣ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀ̣κ̣ρωτ̣[ηρίου] καὶ τὴν μὲν κεραίαν οὐκ ἦν παραβαλεῖν, ἐ̣[ναντ]ί̣αν γὰρ οὐκ ἴσχυε φέρειν ἡ πορθμὶς τὴν [θάλα]τταν· ...... δὲ τὸ κέρας οὔριον ἔχοντες τ̣[ετα]μένοις τοῖς ἀκατίοις τοῦ προκειμένου μὲν . [ .. ] . τομεν δρόμου, παρὰ [δὲ] τὸν Λακτῆρα, χαλεπώ[τατον] ἀκρωτήριον, κατὰ τὸ Κ̣ρητικὸν ἐσυρόμ[ε]θ̣α πέλαγος, οὐδὲ τὴν Νίσυρον καθορᾶν ἔτι [δυν]άμενοι διὰ τὴν συννέφει̣αν̣· ἧς ἐφιέμε[νοι] ....... βλ̣έ̣πει̣ν̣ ἀ̣π̣ε̣τ̣ύ̣χομ̣εν. μετὰ [δὲ] ν̣ο̣σ̣ώ̣δει παραδόντες πελάγει τῶν μὲν ε[ἰ]ς [σωτ]η̣ρ̣ί̣αν οὐδ[ὲ]ν παρὸν ἑωρῶμεν, ὀλέθρου [δ’ οὐ] [προ]σδοκία μόνο̣ν ἀλλὰ καὶ πόθος ἦν ἅπασιν. [ἤδη] γὰρ θ̣[ά]λαττα ἄ̣γ̣αν ἐκ πολλοῦ διαστήματος συρ̣[ομ]έ̣νη, πυκνῷ μὲν οὐκ [ἐτ]ρ̣αχύνετ[ο π]νεύματι, κοιλα[ι]νομένη δ’ εἰς ἄπειρον ἐ̣ξ̣ ἴ̣σ̣ο̣υ̣ [ὄρεσ]ι̣ν̣ ἐκορυφοῦτο, μέλαινά τ’ ἦν ὑπὸ ζόφου τοῦ περ̣[ιέχ]οντος ἐσκιασμένη· τὸ πνεῦμα τ’ ἐ〈σ〉 στ̣άσιν οὐ [ .. πο]λεμίαν, γνοφ[ο]ειδῆ δέ, κυκλόθεν ἀδοκήτοις ἐ[ρρί]πιζον ἀῆ̣τ̣α̣ι πν̣ο̣ι̣αῖς, οἱ μὲν ψιλοὺς πνεύματ[ος] πρηστῆρα̣ς̣, οἱ̣ δ̣’ ὄμβρους καθιέντες. ἅπας δ[ὲ κ]όσμος ἐν κύκλῳ περιεβροντᾶτο, πυκναὶ δὲ ἀν̣[τ]ήστραπτον ἀλλήλαις ἀπ’ οὐρανοῦ λαμπάδες, ἀγχο̣[ . ] δὲ πολλάκις ἑωρ[ώ]με[ν] οὐρανόθεν πῦρ ἀπ[οτ]οξευόμ[ε]νον· ἦν δ̣’ ἄ̣δηλ[ο]ν ε̣ἴ̣τ̣ε̣ νὺξ εἴθ’ ἡμέρα καθειστή̣[κ]ει σκότους ὁμοι[ό]τητι· σ̣υ̣νεπληρούμεθα [δ’ ὑ]πὸ τῆ[ς τ]ῶν κυμάτων ἐπιβολῆς καὶ τῆς τῶν γνόφων ἐ[πομ]βρίας· ἦ̣ν̣ δ’ οὔτε γῆν [ἰ]δεῖν οὔτε οὐρανόν· πεπ̣υ̣[κασ]μένη δὲ νυκτ[ὶ . |
| col2 (50) | .... ] συνείχετο, καὶ ποτὲ μ[ὲ]ν κατόπιν ἡ μεγ̣[άλη πνοὴ] ἐφίστατ[ο, π]ο̣τ̣ὲ̣ δ’ ἐν[ηρεί]δετο κῦμα· πολλά[κις δὲ κα]ὶ τῆς κεραίας ἐβάλλον[το] πυρσοὶ βραχεῖς [μέρος] ἐς ἑκάτερον. εἴτ’ ἀσ[τρ’, ὡς] ἔφασκον οἱ να[ῦται Διοσ]κόρων προσωνυμίαν [βο]ῶ̣ντες, εἴτ’ ἀστρ[οειδεῖς σ]πινθῆρες ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος ῥιπιζό[μενοι, τὸ σα]φὲς μὲν ἀδύνατον εἰπ[εῖ]ν· προσεκύνου[ν δὲ καὶ] προσεύχοντο πάντες. |