Idylls

Product Description

Eucritus & I & pretty Amyntas turned aside To the farm of Phrasidamus where we sank down With pleasure on deep-piled couches of sweet rushes & vine leaves freshly stripped from the bush. The Greek poet Theocritus of Syracuse (first half of the third century BC) was the inventor of bucolic poetry. These vignettes of country life centred on competitions in song & love are the foundational poems of the western pastoral tradition. They were the principal model for Virgil in the Eclogues & their influence can be seen in the work of Petrarch & Milton. Although it is the pastoral poems for which he is chiefly famous Theocritus also wrote hymns to the gods brilliant mime depictions of everyday life short narrative epics epigrams & encomia of the powerful. The great variety of his poems illustrates the rich & flourishing poetic culture of what was a golden age for Greek poetry. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford Worlds Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxfords commitment to scholarship providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features including expert introductions by leading authorities helpful notes to clarify the text up-to-date bibliographies for further study & much more.