eul_aid: mdu
Μόσχος ὁ Συρακούσιος
Moschus of Syracuse
6 works

Moschus of Syracuse was a Hellenistic bucolic poet of the 2nd century BCE, traditionally considered a pupil of Theocritus and a contemporary of Bion. His epithet indicates his origin in Syracuse, Sicily, the foundational city of the bucolic genre, but no further biographical details survive.

His small surviving corpus includes the miniature epic Europa, which narrates Zeus's abduction of Europa. Other notable works are Love the Runaway and the Epitaph on Bion, a pastoral elegy lamenting the poet Bion. A handful of minor fragments are also attributed to him.

Moschus is a significant figure in the Hellenistic bucolic tradition. Europa is an important early example of the epyllion, or "little epic," focusing on a single myth with vivid description. The Epitaph on Bion became a key model for pastoral elegy. His polished style and contributions to these genres secured his place as a canonical bucolic poet.

Available Works

Ἐπιγράμματα
Epigrams
35 passages
Αποσπάσματα
Epitaph for Bion
11 passages
Ἔρως δραπέτης
Eros the Runaway
3 passages
Εὐρώπη
Europe
13 passages
Ἀποσπάσματα Βουκολικῆς Ποίησεως
Fragments of Bucolic Poetry
26 passages
Μεγάρα
Megara
9 passages