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Idyll IX

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Idyll IX, also titled Βουκολιασταί γʹ ('The Third Country Singing-Match'), is a bucolic poem by the 3rd-century BC Greek poet Theocritus.[1] Daphnis and Menalcas, at the bidding of the poet, sing the joys of the neatherds and of the shepherds life.[2] Both receive the thanks of the poet, and rustic prizes—a staff and a horn, made of a spiral shell.[2]

Summary

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The characters are two neatherds, Daphnis and Menalcas, and the writer himself.[1] We are to imagine the cattle to have just been driven out to pasture.[1] There is no challenge and no stake.[1] At the request of the writer that they shall compete in song before him, each of the herdsmen sings seven lines, Daphnis setting the theme; and then the writer, leaving it to be implied that he judged them equal, tells us how he gave them each a gift and what it was.[1] The writer now appeals to the Muses to tell him the song he himself sang on the occasion, and he sings a six-line song in their praise.[1]

Analysis

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J. M. Edmonds thinks this poem "would seem to be merely a poor imitation of the last" (Idyll VIII).[1] Doubts have been expressed as to the authenticity of the prelude and concluding verses.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Edmonds, ed. 1919, p. 123.
  2. ^ a b c Lang, ed. 1880, p. 50.

Sources

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Attribution: Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

  • Edmonds, J. M., ed. (1919). The Greek Bucolic Poets (3rd ed.). William Heinemann. pp. 123–7.
  • Lang, Andrew, ed. (1880). Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus. London: Macmillan and Co. pp. 50–2.

Further reading

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