Charĭton
(
Χαρίτων). An erotic prose-writer of Aphrodisias in Caria,
whose date is uncertain, but probably not earlier than the fifth century A.D. He was the
author of a romance entitled
The Love Adventures of Chaereas and
Callirrhoé (
τὰ περὶ Χαιρέαν καὶ Καλλιρροὴν
ἐρωτικὰ διηγήματα), in seven books. Only one MS. of this is known to exist. A
Latin version with notes was published by Reiske, 3 vols.
(Amsterdam, 1750); a
commentary by Beck
(Leipzig, 1783); and a beautiful edition of the text in 1812
at Venice. A good French translation is that of Larcher in the
Bibliothèque des Romans Grecs (Paris, 1797). It was
rendered into English by Becket
(London, 1764).