When discussing Asterix and the Great Divide (1980), many commentators point out its resemblance to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: two young lovers divided by a bitter political rift. The comparison is natural, especially for modern readers. Yet if we shift our perspective into the world of 50 BCE, where Asterix and his fellow villagers live, the Shakespearean link suddenly becomes anachronistic. After all, Shakespeare wouldn’t be born for another century.

Instead, a far older story offers a more fitting parallel — one that predates Rome’s imperial age and would have been considered ancient even in Asterix’s time. It is the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe, the original pair of star-crossed lovers.

Introducing Pyramus and Thisbe

Most readers today know the archetype of forbidden love through Shakespeare, but centuries before Romeo and Juliet, the Roman poet Ovid recorded the tragic romance of Pyramus and Thisbe in his Metamorphoses (published around 8 CE).

The Story

Pyramus and Thisbe were two young lovers from ancient Babylon, whose families were locked in a longstanding feud. Forbidden to see each other, they discovered a small crack in the wall separating their houses. Through this crack they whispered their secrets, hopes, and affections.

One night, they planned an escape. They would meet beneath a mulberry tree outside the city. Thisbe arrived first, but a lioness, fresh from a hunt, approached the tree. Terrified, she fled, dropping her veil. The lioness mauled the cloth, leaving it stained with blood.

When Pyramus arrived and saw the torn, bloody veil, he believed Thisbe had been killed. In despair, he took his own life. Moments later, Thisbe returned to find Pyramus dying. Overcome with grief, she followed him in death. According to the myth, the gods turned the mulberries from white to deep red in memory of their love.

Why the Story Matters

Pyramus and Thisbe established a narrative pattern that would echo through Western literature for millennia: lovers separated by social, political, or familial barriers. It is the earliest form of the motif that Shakespeare later adapted.

The Great Divide and Its Ancient Inspiration

With this context, Asterix and the Great Divide can be read not merely as a political allegory — a nod to the divided Germany of the late 20th century — but also as a subtle engagement with one of antiquity’s most recognizable romantic myths.

In the album, Histrionix and Melodrama occupy opposing sides of a village split by a deep fissure and deeper ideological disagreements. Their tender, secretive relationship mirrors the structure of Pyramus and Thisbe more closely than that of Romeo and Juliet.

Parallels Worth Noticing

• Divided Communities: Just as Pyramus and Thisbe come from feuding families, Histrionix and Melodrama belong to rival factions within their village.
• A Physical Barrier: The dramatic chasm in the village recalls the wall that separated Ovid’s lovers.
• A Classical Context: Because the authors of Asterix often draw on ancient sources, it is entirely plausible that he was thinking of well-known classical tales rather than Renaissance drama.
• In-Universe Logic: Within the chronology of Asterix’s world, the Gauls could not possibly know Romeo and Juliet, but stories like that of Pyramus and Thisbe — already centuries old — would have been part of the mythological landscape.

A More Fitting Ancestry

Connecting the album to Pyramus and Thisbe does not replace the Shakespearean reading; instead, it enriches our understanding. It allows modern readers to appreciate both the classical depth and the playful anachronism typical of Asterix.

Seen this way, Histrionix and Melodrama are heirs not just to Verona’s lovers, but to Babylon’s — linking Asterix and the Great Divide with one of antiquity’s most enduring stories. Luckily for Obelix, the story of the Great Divide actually has a happy ending.