Teocrito (Theocritus)

Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings. However, some of the poems (Idylls; Εἰδύλλια) commonly attributed to him have little claim to authenticity. 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, lived on the island of Kos, and lived in Egypt during the time of Ptolemy II.
The record of these recensions 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." 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." The last line may mean that he wrote nothing but bucolic poems, or that he only wrote in Doric. The assertion that he was from Syracuse appears to be upheld by allusions in the Idylls (7.7, 28.16–18).
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…

Bucolics and mimes
The distinction between these is that the scenes of the former are laid in the country and those of the latter in a town. The most famous of the Bucolics are 1, 6, 7 and 11.
In "Idyll 1" Thyrsis sings to a goatherd about how Daphnis, the mythical herdsman, having defied the power of Aphrodite, dies rather than yielding to a passion the goddess has inflicted on him. In the poem, a series of divine figures from classical mythology, including Hermes, Priapus, and Aphrodite herself, interrogate the shepherd about his lovesickness. As Daphnis lies dying, Priapus asks: "Wretched Daphnis, why pinest thou?"; Hermes inquires: "Daphnis, who wastes thee away?" Alongside these mythological figures appear shepherds and goatherds, who likewise wonder "what harm had befallen" Daphnis. Finally, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, appears to taunt Daphnis for his hubris: "Thou indeed, Daphnis, didst boast that thou wouldst bend Love! Hast not thou, in thine own person, been bent by grievous love?" The failure of these figures to comfort Daphnis in his dying moments thematizes classical beliefs about the folly of mortals who challenge the gods.
In "Idyll 11" Polyphemus is depicted as in love with the sea-nymph Galatea and finding solace in song. In "Idyll 6," he is cured of his passion and naively relates how he repulses the overtures now made to him by Galatea. The monster of Homer's Odyssey has been "written up to date" after the Alexandrian manner and has become a gentle simpleton.
"Idyll 7," the Harvest Feast, is the most important of the bucolic poems. The scene is laid in the isle of Kos. The poet speaks in the first person and is called Simichidas by his friends. Other poets are introduced under feigned names. Ancient critics identified the character Sicelidas of…

Theocritus, Bion and Moschus: Rendered into English Prose with an Introductory Essay by Andrew Lang (1880), London.
Theocritus, Bion and Moschus (1913), translated into English verse by Arthur S. Way. Cambridge University Press.
Theocritus, The Idylls of Theocritus, translated by R. C. Trevelyan (1925 Albert & Charles Boni, New York).
Theocritus, The Second and Seventh Idylls (1927), translated by Charles Stuart Calverley. Illustrated with woodcuts by Elizabeth Rivers (John Lane, London).
Theocritus, Theocritus. The Greek text with translation and commentary by A. S. F. Gow (2nd ed. 1952, Cambridge).
Theocritus: Select Poems (1971), commentary by K. J. Dover, London.
Theocritus: Idylls and Epigrams (1982), translated by Daryl Hine, Atheneum, New York.
Theocritus – A Selection (1999), commentary by Richard Hunter, Cambridge.
Theocritus, The Idylls of Theocritus, tr. Robert Wells (1988)
Theocritus: Idylls (2003), translated by Anthony Verity with an introduction and notes by Richard Hunter, Oxford University Press.
Theocritus, Moschus, Bion, edited and translated by Neil Hopkinson, Cambridge MA – London (2015).