Theocritus (/θiːˈɒkrɪtəs/; Ancient Greek: Θεόκριτος, Theokritos; Sicilian: Tiòcritu, Teocritu; born c. 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily, Magna Graecia, and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Theocritus in the context of Hesychius of Alexandria
Hesychius of Alexandria (Ancient Greek: Ἡσύχιος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, romanized: Hēsýchios ho Alexandreús, lit. 'Hesychios the Alexandrian') was a Greek grammarian who, probably in the 5th or 6th century AD, compiled the richest lexicon of unusual and obscure Greek words that has survived, probably by absorbing the works of earlier lexicographers.
The work, titled "Alphabetical Collection of All Words" (Συναγωγὴ Πασῶν Λέξεων κατὰ Στοιχεῖον, Synagōgē Pasōn Lexeōn kata Stoicheion), includes more than 50,000 entries, a copious list of peculiar words, forms and phrases, with an explanation of their meaning, and often with a reference to the author who used them or to the district of Greece where they were current. Hence, the book is of great value to the student of the Ancient Greek dialects and in the restoration of the text of the classical authors generally – particularly of such writers as Aeschylus and Theocritus, who used many unusual words. Hesychius is important, not only for Greek philology, but also for studying lost languages and obscure dialects of the Balkans in antiquity (such as Albanoid and Thracian) and in reconstructing Proto-Indo-European. Many of the words that are included in this work are not found in surviving ancient Greek texts.
In this Dossier
Theocritus in the context of Idyll
An idyll (/ˈaɪdɪl/, UK also /ˈɪdɪl/; from Greek εἰδύλλιον (eidullion) 'short poem'; occasionally spelled idyl in American English) is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus's short pastoral poems, the Idylls (Εἰδύλλια).
Unlike Homer, Theocritus did not engage in heroes and warfare. His idylls are limited to a small intimate world, and describe scenes from everyday life. Later imitators include the Roman poets Virgil and Catullus, Italian poets Torquato Tasso, Sannazaro and Leopardi, the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Idylls of the King), and Nietzsche's Idylls from Messina. Goethe called his poem Hermann and Dorothea—which Schiller considered the very climax in Goethe's production—an idyll.
Theocritus in the context of Lagus
Lagus of Eordaia (Greek Λάγος, Lagos; lived 4th century BC) was a Macedonian courtier and the father of Ptolemy, the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He married Arsinoe of the Argead dynasty and a concubine of Philip II, king of Macedon, who was said to have been pregnant at the time of their marriage, forming the basis of Ptolemy as the son of Philip; but it is possible that this is a later myth fabricated to glorify the Ptolemaic dynasty. From an anecdote recorded by Plutarch, it is clear that Lagus was a man of obscure birth; hence, when Theocritus calls Ptolemy a descendant of Heracles, he probably means to represent him as the son of Philip. Lagus and Arsinoe also were parents to Menelaus.
Theocritus in the context of Philitas of Cos
Philitas of Cos (/fɪˈlaɪtəs/; Greek: Φιλίτας ὁ Κῷος, Philitas ho Kōos; c. 340 – c. 285 BC), sometimes spelled Philetas (/faɪˈliːtəs/; Φιλήτας, Philētas; see Bibliography below), was a Greek scholar, poet and grammarian during the early Hellenistic period of ancient Greece. He is regarded as the founder of the Hellenistic school of poetry, which flourished in Alexandria after about 323 BC. Philitas is also reputed to have been the tutor of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and the poet Theocritus. He was thin and frail; Athenaeus later caricatured him as an academic so consumed by his studies that he wasted away and died.
Philitas was the first major Greek writer who was both a scholar and a poet. His reputation continued for centuries, based on both his pioneering study of words and his verse in elegiac meter. His vocabulary Disorderly Words described the meanings of rare literary words, including those used by Homer. His poetry, notably his elegiac poem Demeter, was highly respected by later ancient poets. However, almost all his work has since been lost.
Theocritus in the context of Agamede
Agamede /ˌæɡəˈmiːdi/ (Ancient Greek: Ἀγαμήδη, meaning "very cunning") was a name attributed to two separate women in classical Greek mythology and legendary history.