Editing Callimachus (section)

===''Hecale''===
{{Main|Hecale (poem)}}
Callimachus made only one attempt at writing a narrative poem, a mythological [[epic poetry|epic]] entitled ''[[Hecale (poem)|Hecale]]''. Since the poem is estimated to run to have had around 1000 lines, it constitutes an [[epyllion]], a shorter form of epic poetry dealing with topics not traditionally present in larger-scale works.{{Sfn|Gutzwiller|2007|p=68}} It recounts a story about the Greek hero [[Theseus]], who, after liberating the city of [[Marathon, Greece|Marathon]] from a destructive bull, was hosted by a poor but kindly old woman named [[Hecale]]. They form a friendship as she recounts her former life as a member of the [[upper class]]. At the end of the poem, Theseus establishes an annual feast and a sanctuary to [[Zeus]] in honour of his host.{{Sfn|Gutzwiller|2007|p=69}}

Since most of Callimachus's poetry is critical of epic as a genre, there has been some speculation about why he chose to write an epic poem after all. The author of a [[scholium]], an ancient commentary on the work of Callimachus, stated that Callimachus abandoned his reluctance after being ridiculed for not writing lengthy poems. This explanation was probably derived from the poet's own intimation at the start of the ''Aetia'' and is therefore of limited authority.{{Sfn|Cameron|1995|p=137}} According to Cameron, Callimachus may have conceived the ''Hecale'' as a model epic according to his own tastes.{{Sfn|Cameron|1995|pp=137–138}}