The subject of this volume is that group works of extended prose narrative fiction which bears many similarities to the modern novel and which appeared in the later classical periods in Greece and Rome. The ancient novel has enjoyed renewed popularity in recent years not only among students of literature, but also among those looking for new sources on the popular culture of antiquity and among scholars of religion. This volume surveys the new insights and approaches to the ancient novel which have emerged from the application of a variety of disciplines in the recent years. The 25 senior scholars contributing to the volume are drawn from a broad range of European and North American traditions of scholarships. Chapters cover the important issues dealing with the novel, novelists, novel-like works of fiction, their development, transformation, christianisation and Nachleben, as well as a broad range of matters, from literary/philological to cultural/historical and religious, which concerns modern scholars in the field.