Erotocritos is a 17th century romance by Vitzentzos Kornaros that was adapted into a graphic novel and illustrated by Giorgos Goussis, and also adapted by Dimosthenis Papamarkos and Yannis Ragos. I read the English translation by Bruce Walter.
Finished on: 29.5.2025

Plot:
When Erotocritos, the son of the King’s closest advisor, falls in love with Princess Aretousa, he resorts to serenading her anonymously, making Aretousa fall in love with the unknown suitor. But King Heracles has no interest in this romance and tries to ambush the suitor to reveal his identity. Erotocritos flees, but he cannot leave his love behind.

I got this graphic novel as a gift, having never heard of this piece of Greek classical literature before. Reading it in this way was probably a good introduction, and it did make me curious about the original work.

Erotocritos is a classic love-overcoming-all-obstacles story with faithful women, heroic men and a dash of magic when needed for the final obstacles. The gender politics of the entire thing are, of course, not particularly modern, but Aretousa is afforded at least some agency in the story, and her choice to suffer for her love. Still, 400 years later, I would have liked more action and less stoic suffering. And her poor nurse who gets drawn into the entire suffering bit could have also used a little more attention and justice.

Anyway, I didn’t expect it to be a feminist masterpiece, and it was a good read despite everything. The graphic novel partly uses the original verse in the adaptation, partly a bit more modern language. That mirrors the setting of the original romance, from what I gather, as it is set in a fantastic, historic inspired but also anachronistic version of Athens that I will leave to history buffs to dissect.

The art style took a bit of getting used to. With overwhelmingly dark colors and shapes that are reminiscent of classic Greek art, it is definitely interesting to look at. And I thought it served the story well.

I think that you will get most out of the book if you familiarize yourself with the story beforehand, because at times I found it a little cryptic. But at the same time, it is a pretty accessible format to become familiar with the story. I don’t know if I am really motivated enough to delve deeper into the romance than that, but a part of me definitely wants to now.

Summarizing: worth checking out.