IDYLL 7 AND THE HYMN TO HERMES. (29th June 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rudoni, Elia R.
• Is Part Of: Cambridge classical journal. Volume 61(2015)
• Page Start: 99
• Page End: 110
• Publication Date: 2015-06-29
• Subjects: Classical philology -- Periodicals; Classical literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 880.05
• DOI: 10.1017/S1750270515000032
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1750-2705

Abstract

Abstract : Simichidas' self-presentation as a poet at Theocritus 7.37 is modelled on Apollo's self-presentation as a musician at Homeric Hymn to Hermes 450. Through this allusion, in his own Dichterweihe as a bucolic poet Simichidas hints at the invention of the bucolic genre by Hermes. The reference is crafted so as to point self-reflexively to its status as reference; in particular, the expression καὶ γὰρ ἐγώ ('I too') of line 37 functions as an intertextual signpost. If Simichidas is a literary projection of Theocritus, the allusion has important implications for our understanding of his self-positioning within the poetical tradition.