Theocritus’ Poetic Landscapes

Abstract

AbstractThe first half of the chapter shows that Theocritus’ bucolic Idylls construct their ideal worlds by banishing the Callimachean desire for the unattainable into the realm of mimetic representation and by letting their inhabitants experience no other desire than a desire for poetry and art. The second half argues that Theocritus’ encomiastic portrayals of Alexandria in Idylls 14 and 15 are based on similar principles as his construction of the bucolic landscapes: like poetry in Idyll 11, Alexandria is described in Idyll 14 as a remedy of unrequited love, and in Idyll 15 the city emerges not only as an ideal Panhellenic metropolis but also as a place where, as in the bucolic world, the only desire that one can possibly experience is a desire for beautiful artworks and beautiful songs.