Nature and sexuality in the novel Daphnis and Chloe: the translation of Jacques Amyot (1559)

Abstract

Written in the 2^nd century and attributed to Longus, Daphnis and Chloe is a Greek novel set on the island of Lesbos. Two young shepherds, characterized by ignorance, awake to the feeling of love and sexuality. In 1559, Jacques Amyot translated the ancient text, transforming the relationship between humans and nature. The article collates the Greek work — from the manuscript that Amyot read — with the French translation, taking into account the intertextuality of Daphnis and Chloe with some other works of the period.