Abstract
AbstractThis article examines the discourse of Charmides, an army general attempting to suppress the banditry of the boukoloi in the Nile delta, about the analgesic power of the breath of elephants fed on the ‘black rose of India’ in Achilles Tatius’ novel, Leucippe and Clitophon (4.2-5). It explores the narrative context, the characterization of the military commander, the use of elephants as moral exempla for human behaviour, and the sub-text of Charmides’ speech. It considers how the discourse of the general relates to the theme of Plato’s dialogue, Charmides—sōphrosynē (sexual restraint)—and argues that Charmides’ account of the elephant and the ‘black rose of India’ are best understood as extended metaphors that are designed to coerce Leucippe into having sexual relations with him.
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