Theocritus (redirected from Theocritean)

Theocritus (thēŏk`rĭtəs), fl. c.270 B.C., Hellenistic Greek poet, b. Syracuse. The history of the pastoral begins with him, and in him the form seems to have reached its height. His poetic style is finished and at times artificial, but the bucolic characters in his idyls seem alive. Theocritus has been widely imitated (e.g., by such poets as Vergil and Spenser).

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Theocritus

(born c. 300, Syracuse, Sicily—died 260 BC) Greek poet. Little is known of his life. His surviving poems consist of bucolics and mimes, set in the country, and epics, lyrics, and epigrams, set in towns. The bucolics, his most characteristic and influential works, introduced the pastoral convention into poetry and were the sources of Virgil's Eclogues and much Renaissance poetry and drama. Theocritus's best-known idylls include Thyrsis, a lament for Daphnis, the shepherd poet of mythology, and Thalysia (“Harvest Festival”), which presents the poet's friends and rivals in the guise of rustics.

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Theocritus

?310--?250 bc, Greek poet, born in Syracuse. He wrote the first pastoral poems in Greek literature and was closely imitated by Virgil

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Theocritus

poet; rhapsodized over charm of rustic life. [Gk. Lit.: Brewer Dictionary, 813]

See : Pastoralism

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Theocritus

Born late fourth century B.C.; died first half of the third century B.C. Greek poet.

Theocritus was a native of either Syracuse in Sicily or the island of Cos. He invented the idyll and introduced the shepherd longing for love as a stock figure. Theocritus’ depictions of city dwellers are in the tradition of Sophron’s mimes. The interest the poet took in the daily life of ordinary people constitutes the artistic and thematic importance of his work. Theocritus was consistent in his compositional form, using dialogues or stories told in song. His style is sometimes sophisticated in its treatment of mythology and sometimes deliberately naive. Approximately 30 idylls attributed to Theocritus survive, but not all of them are considered genuine.

PUBLICATIONS

Theocritus: Works, vols. 1–2. Edited with a translation and commentary by A. S. F. Gow. Cambridge, 1950.
In Russian translation:
Feokrit, Moskh, Bion: Idillii i epigrammy. Translation and commentary by M. E. Grabar’-Passek. Moscow, 1958.

REFERENCE

Radtsig, S. I. Istoriia drevnegrecheskoi literatury, 3rd ed. Moscow, 1969.