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Theocritus
Theocritus (; grc-gre, Θεόκριτος, ''Theokritos''; born c. 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus 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 consisting of poems whose authorship was doubtful yet formed a corpus of bucolic poetry, the other a strict collection of those works considered to have been composed by Theocritus himself. Theocritus was 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 '' Pharmakeutria''. It is also speculated that Theocritus was born in Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse, lived on the island of K ...
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Idyll XI
Idyll XI, otherwise known as Bucolic poem 11, was written by Theocritus in dactylic hexameter. Its main character, the Cyclops Polyphemus, has appeared in other works of literature such as Homer's ''Odyssey'', and Theocritus' Idyll VI. Idyll XI is written in the Doric dialect of ancient Greek. In that dialect, the Cyclops' name is "Polyphamos." The more familiar "Polyphemos" is the form in which he is known in the Odyssey, which is written in the Ionic dialect. Overview Theocritus' Idyll XI, the "Cyclops", relates Polyphemus' longing for the sea-nymph Galatea, and how Polyphemus' cured himself of the wound of this unrequited love through song. This idyll is one of Theocritus' best-well-known bucolics, along with Idylls I, VI, and VII. Idyll XI has an unusual set of narrative framing, as Theocritus appears ''in propria persona'', and directly offers his friend Nicias ''consolatio amoris''. Nicias worked as a doctor, and it is likely the two knew each other in their youth. ...
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Polyphemus
Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and legends". Polyphemus first appeared as a savage man-eating giant in the ninth book of the ''Odyssey''. The satyr play of Euripides is dependent on this episode apart from one detail; Polyphemus is made a pederast in the play. Later Classical writers presented him in their poems as heterosexual and linked his name with the nymph Galatea. Often he was portrayed as unsuccessful in these, and as unaware of his disproportionate size and musical failings. In the work of even later authors, however, he is presented as both a successful lover and skilled musician. From the Renaissance on, art and literature reflect all of these interpretations of the giant. Odysseus and Polyphemus Ancient sources In Homer's epic, Odysseus lands on the islan ...
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Idyll VI (Theocritus)
Idyll VI, otherwise known as Bucolic poem 6, was written by Theocritus in dactylic hexameter. The exact date of its composition is unknown. It references characters that have appeared in other works of literature such as Homer's ''Odyssey'', Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', and Theocritus' Idyll XI. Summary The poem is addressed to Aratus, a friend of Theocritus, who is also referenced in Idyll VII. The poem tells the tale of two herdsmen, Damoetas and Daphnis, gathering their herds in the same spot where Daphnis engages Damoetas in a singing competition. Daphnis addresses the state of the relationship between Polyphemus Polyphemus (; grc-gre, Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos, ; la, Polyphēmus ) is the one-eyed giant son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes described in Homer's ''Odyssey''. His name means "abounding in songs and leg ... and Galatea, whereby she both flirts with and teases him. However, Daphnis warns Polyphemus of the consequences of act ...
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Pastoral Poetry
A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts such life in an idealized manner, typically for urban audiences. A ''pastoral'' is a work of this genre, also known as bucolic, from the Greek , from , meaning a cowherd. Literature Pastoral literature in general Pastoral is a mode of literature in which the author employs various techniques to place the complex life into a simple one. Paul Alpers distinguishes pastoral as a mode rather than a genre, and he bases this distinction on the recurring attitude of power; that is to say that pastoral literature holds a humble perspective toward nature. Thus, pastoral as a mode occurs in many types of literature (poetry, drama, etc.) as well as genres (most notably the pastoral elegy). Terry Gifford, a prominent literary theorist, def ...
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Pastoral Poetry
A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts such life in an idealized manner, typically for urban audiences. A ''pastoral'' is a work of this genre, also known as bucolic, from the Greek , from , meaning a cowherd. Literature Pastoral literature in general Pastoral is a mode of literature in which the author employs various techniques to place the complex life into a simple one. Paul Alpers distinguishes pastoral as a mode rather than a genre, and he bases this distinction on the recurring attitude of power; that is to say that pastoral literature holds a humble perspective toward nature. Thus, pastoral as a mode occurs in many types of literature (poetry, drama, etc.) as well as genres (most notably the pastoral elegy). Terry Gifford, a prominent literary theorist, def ...
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Ptolemy II
; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208 , predecessor = Ptolemy I , successor = Ptolemy III , horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni''''Khunuqeni''The brave youth , nebty = ''wr-pḥtj''''Urpekhti''Great of strength , golden = ''šḫꜤj-n-sw it.f''''Shekhaiensu itef''Whose father enthroned him , prenomen = ''wsr-kꜢ-rꜤ mrj-jmn''''Userkare Meryamun''The strong one of the ka of Ra, beloved of Amun , nomen = ''ptwꜢlwmys''''Petualumys''Ptolemaios , nomen_hiero = p:t-wA-l:M-i-i-s , birth_date = c.309 BC , birth_place = Kos , death_date = 28 January 246 BC (aged 62–63) , spouse = Arsinoe I Arsinoe II , children = With Arsinoe I:Ptolemy IIILysimachus Berenice, Queen of SyriaWith Bilistiche:Ptolemy Andromachou , dynasty = Ptolemaic dynasty , father = Ptolemy I , mother = Berenice I Ptolemy II Philadelphus ( gr, Πτολεμαῖος Φιλάδελφος ''Ptolemaios Philadelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-love ...
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Eclogues
The ''Eclogues'' (; ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil. Background Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by offering a dramatic and mythic interpretation of revolutionary change at Rome in the turbulent period between roughly 44 and 38 BC. Virgil introduced political clamor largely absent from Theocritus' poems, called idylls ("little scenes" or "vignettes"), even though erotic turbulence disturbs the "idyllic" landscapes of Theocritus. Virgil's book contains ten pieces, each called not an idyll but an eclogue ("draft" or "selection" or "reckoning"), populated by and large with herdsmen imagined conversing and performing amoebaean singing in largely rural settings, whether suffering or embracing revolutionary change or happy or unhappy love. Performed with great success on the Roman stage, they feature a mix of visionary politics and eroticism that ...
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Bion Of Smyrna
Bion of Smyrna (; grc-gre, Βίων ὁ Σμυρναῖος, ''gen''.: Βίωνος) was a Greek bucolic poet. Life He was a native of the city of Smyrna and flourished about 100 BC. Most of his work is lost. There remain 17 fragments (preserved in ancient anthologies) and the ''Epitaph of Adonis'', a mythological poem on the death of Adonis and the lament of Aphrodite (preserved in several late medieval manuscripts of bucolic poetry). Some of the fragments show the pastoral themes that were typical of ancient Greek bucolic poetry, while others attest the broader thematic interpretation of the bucolic form that prevailed in the later Hellenistic period. They are often concerned with love, mainly homosexual. Besides Adonis, other myths that appear in his work are those of Hyacinthus and the Cyclops; to judge from references in the ''Epitaph on Bion'', which frequently alludes to Bion's work, he also wrote a poem on Orpheus, to which some of the extant fragments may have ...
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Daphnis
In Greek mythology, Daphnis (; grc, Δάφνις, from , ''daphne'', "Bay Laurel") was a Sicilian shepherd who was said to be the inventor of pastoral poetry. Family According to tradition, he was the son of Hermes and a nymph, despite which fact Daphnis himself was mortal. Mythology Daphnis was also described and shown as an eromenos. His mother was said to have exposed him under a laurel tree, where he was found by shepherds and named after the tree under which he was found. He was also sometimes said to be Hermes' '' eromenos'' rather than his son. In some versions, Daphnis was taught how to play the pan-pipes by Pan himself, and eventually the two also became lovers. Daphnis became a follower of the goddess Artemis, accompanying her in hunting and entertaining her with his singing of pastoral songs and playing of the panpipes. A naiad (possibly Echenais or Nomia) was in love with him and prophesied that he would be blinded if he loved another woman. However, he ...
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Idyll
An idyll (, ; from Greek , ''eidullion'', "short poem"; occasionally spelt ''idyl'' in American English) is a short poem, descriptive of rustic life, written in the style of Theocritus' 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. Terminology The term is used in music to refer generally to a work evocative of pastoral or rural life such as Edward MacDowell's ''Forest Idylls'', and more specifically to a kind of French courtly entertainment (''divertissement'') of the ...
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Syracuse, Sicily
Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûsai, ; el, label=Modern Greek, Συρακούσες, Syrakoúses, . is a historic city on the Italian island of Sicily, the capital of the Italian province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek and Roman history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the pre-eminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in ancient times, when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world. Syracuse is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, next to the Gulf of Syracuse beside the Ionian Sea. It is situated in a drastic rise of land with depths being close to the city offshore although the city itself is generally not so hilly in comparison. The city was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians and ...
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Priapus
In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism. He became a popular figure in Roman erotic art and Latin literature, and is the subject of the often humorously obscene collection of verse called the '' Priapeia''. Mythology Relationship with other deities Priapus was described in varying sources as the son of Aphrodite by Dionysus; as the son of Dionysus and Chione; as perhaps the father or son of Hermes; or as the son of Zeus or Pan. According to legend, Hera cursed him with inconvenient impotence (he could not sustain an erection when the time came for sexual intercourse), ugliness and foul-mindedness while he was still in Aphrodite's womb, in revenge for the hero Paris having the temerity to judge Aphrodite more beautiful than Hera. In another account, Hera's anger ...
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