Books by Theocritus

This selection of the poems of Theocritus illustrates his creative genius and rare powers of observation. Dover's introduction and notes offer insights into both the writing and the life and times of the poet.

Theocritus of Syracuse (first half of the third century BC) was the inventor of 'bucolic' poetry, the principal model for Virgil in the Eclogues and the foundational figure of the western pastoral tradition. The great variety of his other poems - hymns, short narrative epics, mimes, encomia, and epigrams - illustrates the rich and flourishing poetic culture of what was a golden age for Greek poetry.

This volume contains the text of eight poems by the third-century BC Greek poet Theocritus, together with an introduction and extensive commentary. This is the first full-scale commentary on the work of Theocritus since Gow's edition of 1950. It makes a major contribution to the understanding of pastoral poetry.