The inventor of the bucolic genre, Theocritus of Syracuse was a learned poet, who refashioned traditional literary forms in original and highly polished verse on a small scale. Theocritus is best known for poems set in pastoral landscapes, consisting of dialogues and song-contests, combining lyric tone with epic meter. Delphi’s Ancient Classics series provides eReaders with the wisdom of the Classical world, with both English translations and the original Greek texts. This comprehensive eBook presents Theocritus’ complete extant works, with relevant illustrations, informative introductions and the usual Delphi bonus material. (Version 1) * Beautifully illustrated with images relating to Theocritus’ life and works * Features the complete extant works of Theocritus, in both English translation and the original Greek * Concise introduction to the poetry * Provides three different translations, including both verse and prose translations * Includes the J. M. Edmonds translation previously appearing in the Loeb Classical Library edition of Theocritus * Excellent formatting of the texts * Easily locate the poems or works you want to read with individual contents tables * Includes Theocritus’ rare fragments, first time in digital print * Provides a special dual English and Greek text, allowing readers to compare the sections paragraph by paragraph – ideal for students * Features three bonus biographies – discover Theocritus’ ancient world * Scholarly ordering of texts into chronological order and literary genres CONTENTS: The Translations THE IDYLLS OF THEOCRITUS C. S. CALVERLEY VERSE TRANSLATION, 1869 ANDREW LANG PROSE TRANSLATION, 1889 J. M. EDMONDS, LOEB TRANSLATION, 1912 The Greek Text CONTENTS OF THE GREEK TEXT The Dual Text DUAL GREEK AND ENGLISH TEXT The Biographies THE LIFE OF THEOCRITUS by J. M. Edmonds THEOCRITUS AND HIS AGE by Andrew Lang THEOCRITUS by Albert Curtis Clark
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Theocritus (Greek Θεόκριτος), the creator of ancient Greek bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC. Little is known of him beyond what can be inferred from his writings. We must, however, handle these with some caution, since some of the poems ("Idylls") commonly attributed to him have little claim to authenticity. It is clear that at a very early date two collections were made, one of which included a number of doubtful poems and formed a corpus of bucolic poetry, while the other was confined to those works which were considered to be by Theocritus himself. He was probably from Sicily, as he refers to Polyphemus, the cyclops in the Odyssey, as his 'countryman.' He also probably lived in Alexandria for a while, where he wrote about everyday life, notably Pharmkeutra. It is also speculated that Theocritus was born in Syracuse, lived on the island, Kos, and lived in Egypt during the time of Ptolemy II.
