Greek writers
Theokritos of Syracuse
Theokritos of Syracuse was a Greek writer and poet. He was born in 260 BC (Syracuse). He is considered the founder of the genre of the idyll (bucolic poetry written in hexameter).
Records of the life of Theocritus of Syracuse are lacking, but it is known that he lived outside his native Syracuse in Alexandria and on the island of Kos.
His works include bucolic poems, pictures of urban life, epyllia with mythological themes and encomia, as well as celebratory and love poems. In his works Theokritos writes about idealised scenes of pastoral life. Contests in composing and singing pastoral songs, or unfulfilled love, or descriptions of picturesque landscapes and rural tranquillity are common.