The Hylas myth, in which the eponymous boy beloved of Heracles is raped by water nymphs while drawing water from a spring, seems to have been a wildly popular subject among the literary circles of Augustan Rome. Indeed the rape of Hylas had been so ubiquitous that Virgil himself could claim that no one was unfamiliar with it (Georgics 3.6: cui non dictus Hylas puer?). Yet despite this declaration, few renditions of the Hylas myth survive. Propertius 1.20, an Augustan era Latin poem in elegiac couplets, is one extant version of the rape of Hylas. While the similarities between this poem and Theocritus Idyll 13, a short Hellenistic hexameter poem composed well before Propertius, have long been observed by modern scholars, there has been no sustained effort to connect these two accounts of the Hylas myth conclusively. Instead, what little scholarly work that has been done on these poems either appraises them in isolation, or seeks a non-Theocritean template behind Propertius 1.20. With this thesis, I aim to prove definitively that Theocritus Idyll 13 is the major model for Propertius 1.20. In my first chapter, I provide a brief overview of the rape of Hylas throughout all of Greek and Latin literature. In my second chapter, I examine Theocritus Idyll 13 with particular attention to its wit, humour, and narrative. In my third chapter, I offer a thorough literary-critical appreciation of Propertius 1.20, establishing links to Idyll 13 wherever possible. Finally, in my conclusion, I consider the possible influence of other poets and mythographers upon Propertius, before appraising 1.20 both independently and within the context of the Propertian Monobiblos. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / The rape of Hylas is a minor event occurring during the famed expedition of the Argo. A handsome boy named Hylas, who is the beloved of the mighty hero Heracles, fetches water during a brief landing on their voyage to Phasis. As Hylas draws water from a spring, water nymphs abduct him. Heracles, now bereaved, rampages madly in futile search while the other Argonauts sail on without him. Such are the general details of the Hylas myth. This thesis examines two versions of the Hylas myth, the first by Theocritus, a third century BC Hellenistic poet, and the second by Propertius, a first century BC Roman poet. My objective is to prove definitively that these two accounts are connected, with Propertius having modelled his treatment on the rendition provided by Theocritus. This will be achieved through a thorough literary-critical appreciation, with particular focus on wit, humour, and narrative.

Partindo da Teogonia e dos Trabalhos e dias de Hesíodo, modelos de poética fundada na verdade, e do conceito de sabedoria humana, como aparece na Apologia de Sócrates de Platão, o presente trabalho estuda a relação entre verdade e poesia nos Idílios de Teócrito fundamento de seu programa poético , e a elocução contenciosa ou competitiva que a veicula. Ao que se segue tradução em verso de todos os idílios hexamétricos autênticos do autor. / Starting from Hesiods Theogony and Works and days, models of a truth-based poetics, and from the concept of human wisdom as it stands in Platos Apology of Socrates, this work focuses on the so-called reciprocal conditioning of truth and poetry in Theocritus Idylls the very basis of his poetic program as well on the quarrelsome or competitive diction which conveys it. There follows a versetranslation of all the true Theocritean Idylls written in hexameters.

Partindo da Teogonia e dos Trabalhos e dias de Hesíodo, modelos de poética fundada na verdade, e do conceito de sabedoria humana, como aparece na Apologia de Sócrates de Platão, o presente trabalho estuda a relação entre verdade e poesia nos Idílios de Teócrito fundamento de seu programa poético , e a elocução contenciosa ou competitiva que a veicula. Ao que se segue tradução em verso de todos os idílios hexamétricos autênticos do autor. / Starting from Hesiods Theogony and Works and days, models of a truth-based poetics, and from the concept of human wisdom as it stands in Platos Apology of Socrates, this work focuses on the so-called reciprocal conditioning of truth and poetry in Theocritus Idylls the very basis of his poetic program as well on the quarrelsome or competitive diction which conveys it. There follows a versetranslation of all the true Theocritean Idylls written in hexameters.

This thesis is a study of embedded song in ancient Greek narrative poetry. The introduction defines the terminology (embedded song is defined as the depiction of the performance of a poem within a larger poem, such as the songs of Demodocus in Homer’s Odyssey) and sets the study in the context of recent narratological work done by scholars of Classical literature. This section of the thesis also contains a brief discussion of embedded song in the Homeric epics, which will form the background of all later examples of the motif. Chapter 1 deals with embedded song in the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod’s Theogony. It is argued that the occurrence of embedded song across these poems indicates that the motif is a traditional feature of early Greek hexameter poetry, while the possibility of “inter-textual” allusion between these poems is considered, but finally dismissed. Chapter 2 focuses on Pindar, Bacchylides and Corinna, and explores how lyric poets use this motif in the various sub-genres of Greek lyric. In epinician poetry, it is argued that embedded song is used as a strategy of praise and also to boost the authority of the poet-narrator by association with the embedded performers, who can be seen to have in each case a particular source of authority distinct from that of the poet narrator. Chapter 3 considers the Hellenistic poets Apollonius Rhodius and Theocritus, and how their interest in depicting oral poetry meshes with their identity as literate and literary poets. Appendix I gives a list of all the examples of embedded song I have found in Greek poetry. Appendix II gives an account of Pindar’s Hymn to Zeus, a highly fragmentary poem which almost certainly contained an embedded song, analysing this as an example of the difficulties thrown up by lyric fragments for a study of embedded narratives.

This thesis examines the reception of Pindar in Hellenistic poetry. More specifically it examines texts of three major Hellenistic poets: Theocritus of Syracuse, Callimachus of Cyrene and Posidippus of Pella. The texts discussed have been selected on the basis of two principles: (i) genre and (ii) subject matter. They include texts that inscribe themselves in the tradition of encomiastic, and more specifically, Pindaric poetry either through the generic discourse which they partake in or through the employment of myths that Pindar had used in his own odes. Throughout the thesis it is argued that the connections with Pindaric passages are carried out on the basis of ‘allusions’ which are picked up by the readers. This term is employed to describe one of the ways in which intertextuality functions. Following the model of Conte and Barchiesi, the discussion insists on the distinction between allusions to specific Pindaric passages and allusions to epinician generic motifs that can best be illustrated through Pindaric passages. The aim of the discussion for each case of textual correspondence suggested is to describe the means whereby this connection is suggested to the reader and to propose a ‘meaning’ for it. In this sense, equal emphasis is given to the detailed examination of all texts that partake in the intertextual connection suggested, i.e. to Pindaric and Hellenistic alike.

The first part of this master thesis is focused on the personality of Lorenzo deʼ Medici and his inclusion in the period and cultural contexts. The literary background of Italy in the 15th century is introduced, as well as the Lorenzo's life, the summary of his literary output and his contribution as a patron of the Florentine culture and arts. The second part analyzes four of the Lorenzoʼs works related to mythological themes going back until the ancient writers. Lorenzoʼs evident influence by these authors is illustrated with the specific quotations but at the same time his own innovations in texts and stories are referred to. The conclusion compares an extend of this influence on him and the contribution of his own invention to the particular works. It points out the uniqueness of the personality of Lorenzo deʼ Medici both in the cultural and literary spheres as well.

Il est reconnu que la poésie hellénistique a donné à l’expression du sentiment amoureux une importance inédite, mais la rupture que constitue ce fait littéraire par rapport aux œuvres du passé n’a cependant pas toujours été suffisamment mise en avant. Cette étude propose donc d’examiner les spécificités de cette représentation de l’amour et de montrer qu’elle ressortit principalement au registre pathétique. Ainsi, dans une perspective diachronique, elle s’attache tout d’abord à rappeler les particularités de la représentation de l’amour dans la poésie des époques archaïque et classique, et à montrer notamment le rôle secondaire qu’y tient cette thématique. Puis, après avoir analysé les caractéristiques, complexes mais toujours éminemment négatives, que les poètes hellénistiques attribuent à l’amour, essentiellement réduit pour eux à l’ἔρως, elle examine les modalités précises de son expression pathétique, une innovation importante grâce à laquelle la thématique amoureuse a pu accéder en littérature au rang d’un véritable sentiment. Cette étude permet enfin de montrer que la représentation pathétique du sentiment amoureux est l’une des clefs pour comprendre plusieurs caractéristiques et enjeux fondamentaux de la poésie hellénistique, à propos de laquelle il convient de parler d’une véritable poétique de l’amour. En effet, le pathétique amoureux peut s’y lire comme un paradigme méta-poétique qui ne reflète pas seulement les nouvelles valeurs esthétiques de l’époque hellénistique mais également les conditions, inédites, de création et de réception des œuvres littéraires, en particulier dans leurs rapports, aussi étroits qu’ambigus, aux cours royales et à la tradition. / Hellenistic poetry attributed an importance to love never encountered in poetry before. This literary break with the past has only ever received scant attention. This study sets out to examine the specifics of how love was represented and to show how it essentially emerges from the pathetic register. From a diachronic perspective, the study aims to focus on the particular characteristics of the representation of love in the poetry of the classical and archaic periods, and above all demonstrate the secondary role the theme was accorded. After an analysis of the complex, but always eminently negative, characteristics, attributed to love by Hellenistic poets, which, to them, is essentially reduced to ἔρως, the study examines the precise modalities of its expression through pathos, an important innovation through which the theme of love became recognised as a genuine feeling in literature. This study ultimately enables us to show that the pathetic representation of love is one of the keys to understanding several characteristics and fundamental issues of Hellenistic poetry, through a genuine poetics of love. Romantic pathos can indeed be interpreted here as a meta-poetic paradigm which does not only reflect the new aesthetic values of the Hellenistic age but also the new conditions of creation and reception of literary works, in particular in their close and ambiguous relationships with royal courts and tradition.

Dans cette thèse est proposée une définition du genre poétique bien connu qu’est la poésie bucolique. Son point de départ réside dans le double statut qui la caractérise : c’est à la fois un titre (les Bucoliques) et un genre (la poésie bucolique). Le fait de privilégier l’un ou l’autre de ces statuts oriente la définition qui est retenue. Nous avons donc examiné les sources antiques et tenté d’inverser la perspective habituellement retenue : alors que l’on considère souvent que c’est le genre qui a engendré le titre, nous pensons que c’est le titre (Bucoliques) qui a engendré le genre. En d’autres termes, à l’origine, un poème bucolique n’est pas un « poème de bouviers », mais un poème contenu dans un recueil intitulé Βουκολικά. Ce n’est que dans un second temps que le sens du titre originel (Βουκολικά) se serait restreint au genre tel que nous le connaissons aujourd’hui (une « poésie de bouviers », souvent réduite à une « poésie de pâtres ») et qui aurait entraîné, à la fin de l’Antiquité, le remplacement de ce titre par les mots « idylles » et « églogues », qui à l’origine n’avaient aucun rapport avec la poésie bucolique. La définition du poème bucolique que nous proposons est fondée sur la rencontre entre deux personnes et l’interprétation d’un chant, car ce schéma s’observe dans la plupart des poèmes bucoliques, y compris post-théocritéens. Dès lors opère une loi de variation censée varier le genre des chants insérés. Cela créée une hiérarchie entre les genres : le poème bucolique n’est pas un poème de bouviers, mais un poème comportant l’interprétation d’un chant dont le genre est appelé à varier. La notion de « mime » n’est ici étudiée qu’à titre de variante de la bucolicité. En effet, trois poèmes de Théocrite sont ainsi décrits parce qu’ils n’appartiennent ni au monde de la campagne (poèmes bucoliques), ni au monde des héros (epyllia). Nous analysons la manière dont cette catégorie s’est constituée, puis sa pertinence : si elle permet à n’en pas douter de constater des codes communs entre les poèmes de Théocrite et ceux d’Hérondas, elle ne doit pas faire oublier que la différence métrique entre les deux auteurs implique une différence d’esthétique. / The aim of this study is a definition of Bucolic poetry. Nowadays it can be analized as a title (Bucolics) or as a poetry genre (bucolic poetry). The choice which is made between these two categories has consequences on the way bucolic poetry is theorised. I try to demonstrate that the genre was invented out of the title : at first, a bucolic poem was no more than a poem included in collection entitled Βουκολικά. At the end of Antiquity this title had been changed into Idylls in the Greek-speaking World and into Eglogues in the Latin-speaking world because the definition has changed. « Bucolicity » is based not on the cowherd, but on a scenario which is repeated from a poem to another : two people meet, a song is sung, and the people leave each other. Any poetic genre could be included in the song which is sung, so I distinguish the bucolic poem from the inserted song which lies inside. I then compare Theocritus to Herodas and Sophron because some bucolic poems are nowadays called « urban mimes ». The name of this categorie is modern, so it shows how new definitions (and new termes) are constantly proposed for poetic genres.