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INTRODUCTION
A further literary genre of the Roman period was that of the popular
novel. It comprised in particular the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, Leucippe and
Cleitophon by Achilles Tatius, Heliodorus’ Aethiopica and the anonymous Historia
Apollonii Regis Tyrii. 21 It was so characterised by brigands and pirates that
the figure of the bandit may indeed be said to have been one of the constants
of the genre. 22
These recurring bandit episodes served various dramatic purposes. They
broke up the main plot in an entertaining manner, created tension and often
led to an unforeseen twist in the story. Bandit stories were, therefore, important
for authors. The figures involved generally represented ideal bandit
types, making it difficult to assess the extent to which the characteristics
assigned to them were derived from the everyday experiences of their authors.
In novels of the imperial period we encounter the ‘honourable’ bandit,
forced into his trade by need, much more frequently than the ‘bloodthirsty’
bandit. It was said of Thyamis, the robber chief in Heliodorus’ Aethiopica,
that he was ‘no out-and-out barbarian, but possessed a certain sensitivity of
feeling because he came of a noble family and had chosen his current profession
only out of necessity.’ 23 Likewise Trachinos, a pirate chief in the same
story, was made to say, ‘Even freebooters possess something of a conscience
and look out for their friends.’ 24
From even these few indications it can be seen that the world of these
bandits could, or at least should, present the opposite of the unfairness of
everyday living. In the romantic conceptions of the novels the individual
values and norms of such brigand communities combine to form a picture of
a better world. This type is not far removed from Eric Hobsbawm’s ‘social
bandits’ of modern history (see below, pp. 11ff.).
As I have remarked, it remains difficult to answer the question of the
extent to which the novels’ fictional encounters with bandits were based on
experience of the realities of imperial life. Against too positive an assessment
of the degree to which this was the case counsels the fact that the figure of
the bandit appears just as lively in the works of the Hellenistic writers who
did much to pave the way for these imperial productions. 25 However, recent
research has judged the world of the novels as being fairly realistic, especially
in respect of the depiction of the living conditions of ordinary people.
F. Millar has shown this in the case of Apuleius’ Metamorphoses, A.M. Scarcella
for Achilles Tatius and J.R. Morgan for Heliodorus. 26 The truth may be that
while novels were generally true to life, they were not so where bandits were
concerned.
In the world of the novels we find two types of bandit: first, the brutal,
common, evil and in every sense despicable lawbreaker; and, second, the
‘noble bandit’ who, undismayed, fights for right and whose band embodies
the ideal of a just world. Outside the novel we also come across precisely
these two types of bandit in the historical tradition. With regard to the
historical bandits who are the subject of the next seven chapters, it will be
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