ABSTRACT
One of the main stereotypical metaphoric manifestations of the journey in fictional narratives is the quest for the beloved. This concept is especially elaborated in the many types of love romances, which became popular in the Middle Ages, not only in Europe, but also in Greek and Arabic literature. In fact, the genre transcends linguistic boundaries to such an extent that it is likely that the various models in different languages influenced one another and that they are part of a large corpus of related texts. The question of generic relationship has remained a matter of speculation, however, since no historical framework supporting theories of mutual relationships has been conceived until now. Nevertheless, the generic resemblances are clear because the stories follow similar patterns and have many themes and motifs in common. In Arabic literature, the Thousand and one nights is one of the main sources where love romances in various forms can be found, either as part of the ‘original core’ or as later additions and components of complex stories of different genres. This has led Von Grünebaum to search for parallels between the Thousand and one nights and some examples of Greek love romances, comparing Greek and Islamic concepts of love and arguing that the Arabic texts were modelled after Greek examples. In view of the lack of a broader historical context illuminating possible influences between Arabic and Greek literatures, his conclusions seem premature, but whatever the true relationship is between some specimens of the love romance, the parallels are sometimes striking.1
