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 city where the bucolic genre began, 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 wrote bucolic poetry in the Hellenistic period. Europa is an important early example of the epyllion, or "little epic," focusing on a single myth with detailed 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
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