Idyll XXIII

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Idyll XXIII, also called Εραστής ('The Lover'), is a poem doubtfully attributed to the 3rd-century BC Greek poet Theocritus.[1] It tells how a lover hanged himself at the gate of his obdurate darling who, in turn, was slain by a statue of Love.[2]

The poem purports to be sent by a lover to his neglectful beloved.[1] The author tells how in a like case unrequited friendship led to the suicide of the one, and to the death of the other at the hands of an effigy of Love.[1]

Analysis

'Love stood on a pedestal of stone above the waters. And lo, the statue leaped, and slew that cruel one'

According to J. M. Edmonds, the actual death of a boy through the accidental falling of a statue probably gave rise to a folk-tale which is here put into literary shape.[1]

Authorship

This poem, known to the Latin poets, cannot be attributed with much certainty to Theocritus, and is found in only a small proportion of manuscripts, the text of which is corrupt.[1][2][3]

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

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