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Everything about Idyll II

Poem

Idyll II, also called Φαρμακεύτριαι, is a poem by the 3rd-century BC Greek poet Theocritus, usually categorised with Idylls XIV and XV as one of his 'urban mimes'. The speaker of the poem, Simaetha, madly in love with Delphis, who has forsaken her, endeavours to subdue him to her by magic, and by invoking the Moon, in her character of Hecate, and of Selene. She tells the tale of the growth of her passion, and vows vengeance if her magic arts are unsuccessful. The scene is beneath the moonlit sky, near the town, and within sound of the sea. The characters are Simaetha, and Thestylis, her handmaid. Wikipedia →

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

  1. Read the overview: Idyll IIA 5-minute orientation
  2. Skim a recent paper: Good food or industrial food: Discourses of the rural idyll and alternative food networksInfluential work since 2022
  3. Pick up a classic book: Pride and PrejudiceThe most-reprinted book on the subject
  4. Read the landmark paper: Rethinking the Rural IdyllCited 8 times
  5. Go sideways: TheocritusA closely related topic
  6. Go sideways: Idyll XVA closely related topic

📖 Definitions

No dictionary entry for this exact phrase.

🗂️ The subject at a glance

  1. Summary
  2. Mime
  3. Illustrations

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

🆕 Influential since 2022

📚 Books worth reading

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics