Achilles Tatius of Alexandria (c.2nd century)

Achilles Tatius was a Roman-era Greek rhetorician of the 2nd century AD. According to the lexicographer Suidas, he was converted to Christianity and became a bishop, but this is extremely doubtful.

Achilles' single extant work, Leucippe and Clitophon, modeled on the works of Heliodorus, is an example of the typical Greek novel of love and adventure. It has been a strong influence on Elizabethan prose-fiction, up to the present date. The descriptive passages are often very good, there is an element of humour and the treatment of love sometimes anticipates the chivalric codes. Though it's been censured for its eroticism, the fundamental moral values are consistently high. The narrative contains elements of adultery, violence, disembowelment, pederasty and a conveniently happy ending. It's popularity with 17th century readers has been extraordinary.

Other works have been attributed to Achilles Tatius, notably Suda ("On the Sphere"), some of which may have been written a century later by a man with the same name. Firmicus Maternus, a Roman writer and astrologer, attributes additional books on math and the book, a Miscellaneous History of Famous Men.