Theocritus

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Theocritus' statue allows us to honor his memory as a renowned Greek bucolic poet. Theocritus was a prominent figure from Sicily, often referring to Polyphemus, the cyclops in Homer's Odyssey, as his "countryman." He likely lived in Alexandria for a time, where he wrote about everyday life, including Pharmakeutria. It is also speculated that Theocritus was born in Syracuse, resided on the island of Kos, and spent time in Egypt during Ptolemy II's reign. These theories are supported by two epigrams, one from Artemidorus of Tarsus, a grammarian who lived during Sulla's time and is said to have been the first editor of Theocritus' poems. Artemidorus writes, "Bucolic muses, once scattered, now united under one roof." The second epigram remains anonymous but states, "The Chian is another. I, Theocritus, wrote these songs from Syracuse, a man of the people, son of Praxagoras and famed Philina. I never sought foreign inspiration." The assertion that he was from Syracuse appears to be supported by allusions in his poems (7.7, 28.16-18). Information about his parentage bears the stamp of genuineness, dismissing a rival theory based on a misinterpretation of Idyll 7, which suggested he was the son of Simichus. A larger collection, possibly more extensive than Artemidorus', and including poems of doubtful authenticity, was known to the author of the Suda. This collection includes bucolic poems in the Doric dialect as well as other works attributed to Theocritus, such as Daughters of Proetus, Hopes, Heroines, Dirges, Lyrics, Elegies, Iambics, and Epigrams. Some of these poems may have been known to Virgil, who references the Proetides in Eclogue 6.48. Poem 21 may have been one of the Hopes, and poem 26 may have been one of the Heroines; elegiacs are found in 8.33-60, and the spurious epitaph on Bion may have been one of the Dirges. A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, and a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual and are normally supported by a plinth. A parallel term, aust, refers to a representation of the upper part of an animal or mythical creature. Sculptural portrait heads from classical antiquity are sometimes displayed as busts but often originate from full-body statues or were created to be inserted into existing bodies. We do not know who created this particular bust of Theocritus.