Theocritus was born in 300 BC, a Greek poet hailing from Sicily. He referred to Polyphemus, the Cyclops of Homer's Odyssey, as his countryman. This claim anchors him firmly within Magna Graecia. Some scholars speculate he lived on the island of Kos and later resided in Egypt during the reign of Ptolemy II. An epigram attributed to Theocritus himself states he is one of the great populace of Syracuse, the son of Praxagoras and renowned Philinna. This assertion appears supported by allusions found in Idylls 7 and 28. Early collections distinguished between poems of doubtful authorship and those considered genuine works by Theocritus. Artemidorus of Tarsus, a grammarian living in the time of Sulla, edited these poems first. He noted that scattered Muses of country song were now gathered into a single pen.
Bucolic Poetry Invention
Idyll 1 features Thyrsis singing to a goatherd about Daphnis, a mythical herdsman who defies Aphrodite. Daphnis dies rather than yielding to the passion inflicted upon him by the goddess. Divine figures including Hermes, Priapus, and Aphrodite interrogate the dying shepherd. Priapus asks Wretched Daphnis why he pinest thou. Hermes inquires Daphnis who wastes thee away. These mythological figures fail to comfort Daphnis in his final moments. Idyll 11 depicts Polyphemus in love with the sea-nymph Galatea finding solace in song. Later, Idyll 6 shows him cured of this passion naively repulsing overtures from Galatea. Idyll 7 serves as the Harvest Feast set on the isle of Kos. The poet speaks in the first person under the name Simichidas. Ancient critics identified Sicelidas of Samos with Asclepiades of Samos and Lycidas with Astacides. Theocritus praises Philitas, the veteran poet of Kos, while criticizing fledgelings of the Muse.Urban Mimes And Drama
Three mimes survive today: numbers 2, 14, and 15. In Idyll 2, Simaetha deserted by Delphis tells her story of love to the moon. Idyll 14 features Aeschines narrating a quarrel with his sweetheart before being advised to enlist in Egypt's army under Ptolemy Philadelphus. Gorgo and Praxinoë visit the festival of Adonis in Idyll 15. Chisholm praised these mimes as wonderfully natural and lifelike. Nothing in ancient literature matches the vivid chatter of Gorgo and Praxinoë found in Idyll 15. These three mimes appear together in the best manuscript immediately following one another. They depict realistic urban scenes and daily life in Hellenistic Egypt rather than rural settings. The distinction between bucolic poetry and mimes lies in their setting: country versus town.