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Theocritus Idyll 7

Issues
• General: non-imbedded first-person narratives are rare in Greek poetry – creates
sense of autobiography. comparanda
o perhaps Archil. Cologne Epode (but we don’t have the opening)
o later Ovid Amores 1.5; Catullus 10; Horace Sat. 1.5, 1.9)
o cf. Platonic dialogues (Lysis, republic, Phaedrus) with opening scenes set
as a journey, esp. Phae. in the countryside in the heat of the day with an
exchange of performances.
• Huge question part 1: what is the relationship between Theocritus and the “I” character
Simichidas? Likelihood is that T. means S. to be representative of him:
o Other poets did similar “nicknames” – “Sikelidas” = Asclepiades of Samos
(mentioned by Hedylos in HE 6.3f; cf. HE II 114-8; Fraser 1972 1 557-61,
Hunter 1996a 19-20) and Asc. may have used the moniker of himself in his own
poetry (HE 1860, Anth. Pal. 4.1.46), he is a famous epigrammist; supposedly
criticized Callimachus.
o S. is a young (44) poet (37-41), and a bucolic one at that (31, 91-5); he is familiar
with Cos, the setting is present (Daphnis and Comatas are represented as being
long past at 72-89; complaints of poets vying with Homer 45ff takes part in a
contemporary stylistic debate);
o S. claims his poetry has come “to the throne of Zeus” 93 perhaps = Ptolemy
Philadelphos
o Aratos, friend of Simichidas (98, 102, 122), is also the name of the addressee of
id. 6
o one Aristis is complemented 99ff, for no apparent reason; if Ari. were an
acquaintance of Th. it would make more sense, and if that were in fact true it
would support the identification further.
• Huge question part 2: who then is Lycidas
o a genuine poetic Coan goatherd, a separate and historical individual (not likely,
but not impossible)
o a genuine poet who liked to dress up as a shepherd for amusement (although
other Greeks would find this odd outside of a festival setting, so it’s either
unlikely or a real oddball)
o a real poet whom Th. has simply portrayed as a goatherd for poetic reasons
(although if so we have no idea who, and we would expect it to be someone
considered fundamental to the genre, since he is clearly being invested with new
poetry with the stick at 43, 128)
o a wholly imaginary creation of Th.
 Given the way he appears suddenly at midday, is a goatherd with no
goats, speaks only to Simichidas, and hands over the stick in a way that
clearly recalls Hesiod. Howerver, since Sim. is already a poet before
meeting Lyc. the meeting tends rather to explore the nature of bucolic
itself, later picked up in the love-song (love being an essential ‘bucolic’
theme).
• models for this: Hesiod Theog. 29ff; for divine meetings Priam
and Hermes Iliad 24.322-472, Odysseus and Athene Od. 7.14-
132, Odysseus and Hermes Od. 10.274-310, O and Athene Od.

1
13.219-440, O. and Melantheus 17.182-261 (cf. Ott 1972 144-9,
Halperin 1974a 224-7); story on the Archilocheion at Paros
(disappearing ladies with lyre for a cow SEG XV 517)
• Brown 1981 L = Pan (as bearer of the lagobolon)
• Lawall 1967 80-4 L = a satyr figure
• Williams 1971 L = Apollo himslef, note title Lykios; Kydonia,
Horomedon, Pyxa are place names with Apolline connections;
although there are also evocations of Pan, Hermes, and the end is
Dionysiac – there is no god ready made for this new genre, so
Th. must fashion his own
• Bowie 1985 L = a character from the poetry of Philitas set on
Lesbos; echoes of Ph. are likely in any case, given that Th.
mentions him by name.
• Huge question addendum: Mascarade bucolique (these are all thin veils for contemporary
poets)
o scholiast notes Sim. could come from Th. being the son of Simichos; or that Th.
is simos (pug-nosed; perhaps from id’ing him with snub nosed ); it refers to
another poet that is not Theocritus
o note unlikely that they are “real” rustics, as Sim. isn’t very rustic
• General: the style is more Homeric than most of the other idylls cf. sparing use of definite
article (Leutner 1907 19).
• end of poem: Homeric echo recalling the promised end of Odysseus’ wanderings (156)
• programmatic: 45-48 Lycidas decries poets who try for great size, and who try to rival
Homer, aligning this poem (and poet) with Callimachean ideals.
• General: 7 is an important model for Vergil
o Ecl. 1 Tityrus refers to “divine” iuvenis --> Octavian, the closest parallel for a
divine youth is Lycidas here in id. 7
o Ecl. 9’s primary model is id. 7, with echoes throughought
o Ecl. 6 the song of Silenus takes over the style, organization (mythological
catalogue), and experimentation with voice of id. 7.72-89 (cf. incorporation of
lament of Pasiphae), while Silenus sings of Hylas, subj. of an idyll, just as Th.’s
Tityros repeats the subject of Id. 1

Bowie, E. (1985) “Theorcitus’s Seventh Idyll, Philetus and Longus.” Classical Quarterly35.67-
91
Brown, E. L. (1981) “The Lycidas of Theocritus’ Idyll 7.” Harvard Studies in Classical
Philology 85.59-100.
Fraser, P. M. (1972) Ptolemaic Alexandria. Oxford.
Hunter, R. (1996a) Theocritus and the Archaeology of Greek Poetry. Cambridge.
Leutner, W. G. (1907) The article in Theocritus. Diss. Johns Hopkins.
Williams, F. (1971) “A Theophany in Theocritus.” Classical Quarterly 21.137-45.

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