The identity of the author is made known by the first sentence: “I am Chariton of Aphrodisia, secretary to the advocate Athenagoras.” Aphrodisia was a town in Caria in southern Asia Minor. Its locality helps little in expanding the autobiography of the author out of this one crisp sentence. But the romance itself reveals more of his personality. His fondness for court-room scenes and his elaborate descriptions of them are what we would expect from a secretary to a ῥήτωρ or advocate. His learning is evident from his many literary and mythological references. And occasionally he steps out of the role of the impersonal narrator into his own character and speaks in the first person to his reader. We will come to feel rather sure of his interests and tastes as we read his πάθος ἐρωτικόν. Before proceeding to outline the plot of the eight books of this romance, it will be well to clarify the story by presenting a list of the characters. The chief characters are: _Chaereas_, the handsome young Greek hero, son of Ariston of Syracuse _Callirhoe_, the beautiful young Greek heroine, daughter of Hermocrates, a famous general of Syracuse _Polycharmus_, a young Greek, the devoted friend of Chaereas _Hermocrates_, the general of Syracuse _Theron_, a pirate _Dionysius_, the governor of Miletus _Mithridates_, satrap of Caria _Artaxerxes_, king of the Persians _Statira_, his wife, queen of the Persians _Pharnaces_, the governor of Lydia and Ionia _Rhodogyne_, the sister of Pharnaces, daughter of Zopyrus, wife of Megabyzus, a Persian beauty. The minor characters of importance are: _Leonas_, a slave-dealer of Miletus _Plangon_, a female slave of Dionysius _Phocas_, slave and overseer of Dionysius, husband of Plangon _Artaxates_, the eunuch of Artaxerxes _Hyginus_, a servant of Mithridates. The list of characters reveals at once a connection of Chariton’s novel with the Ninus Romance because of the use of historical characters. Hermocrates, the great general of Syracuse who defeated the Athenians in the naval battle, 414 B.C., is the father of the heroine and is referred to repeatedly with the greatest pride. Artaxerxes, the king of the Persians, appears in person in courts and in wars. Historical events too are mentioned as if to give a background of reality: the contests between the Syracusans and the Athenians; the war between the Greeks and the Persians; the rebellion of Egypt against Persia; the merit of Cyrus the Great in organizing the army.