Editing Theocritus (section)

==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 (''[[Idyll]]s''; {{lang|grc|Εἰδύλλια}}) 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.{{sfn|Clark|1911|p=760}}

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 [[Kos]], and lived in Egypt during the time of [[Ptolemy II]].

The record of these [[recension]]s is preserved by two epigrams, one of which proceeds from [[Artemidorus of Tarsus]], a grammarian, who lived in the time of [[Sulla]] and is said to have been the first editor of these poems. He says, "The Muses of country song were once scattered, but now they are all together in one pen, in one flock."<ref>''AP'' 9.205, translated by N. Hopkinson (2015), p.8.</ref> The second epigram is anonymous, and runs as follows: "The Chian is another man, but I, Theocritus, who wrote these poems, am one of the great populace of Syracuse, the son of Praxagoras and renowned Philinna; and the Muse I have adopted is no alien."<ref>''AP'' 9.434, translated by N. Hopkinson (2015), p.7.</ref> The last line may mean that he wrote nothing but bucolic poems, or that he only wrote in [[Doric Greek|Doric]]. The assertion that he was from Syracuse appears to be upheld by allusions in the ''Idylls'' (7.7, 28.16&ndash;18).{{sfn|Clark|1911|pp=760–761}}

The information concerning his parentage bears the stamp of authenticity, and disposes of a rival theory based upon a misinterpretation of ''Idyll'' 7—which made him the son of one Simichus. A larger collection, possibly more extensive than that of Artemidorus, and including poems of doubtful authenticity, was known to the author of the ''[[Suda]]'', who says: "Theocritus wrote the so-called bucolic poems in the Doric dialect. Some persons also attribute to him the following: Daughters of Proetus, Hopes, Hymns, Heroines, Dirges, Lyrics, Elegies, Iambics, Epigrams."{{sfn|Clark|1911|p=761}}

The first of these may have been known to [[Virgil]], who refers to the Proetides at ''[[Eclogues|Eclogue]]'' 6.48. The spurious poem 21 may have been one of the ''Hopes'', and poem 26 may have been one of the ''Heroines''; elegiacs are found in 8.33&mdash;60, and the spurious epitaph on [[Bion of Smyrna|Bion]] may have been one of the ''Dirges''. The other classes are all represented in the larger collection which has come down to us.{{sfn|Clark|1911|p=761}}