Eclogue 7 (''Ecloga'' VII; ''Bucolica'' VII) is a poem by the Latin poet

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

, one of his book of ten pastoral poems known as the

Eclogues The ''Eclogues'' (; ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil. Background Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by offer ...

. It is an amoebaean poem in which a herdsman Meliboeus recounts a contest between the shepherd Thyrsis and the goatherd Corydon. The poem is imitated from the sixth Idyll of Theocritus.Greenough, ed. 1883, p. 19. J. B. Greenough thinks the scene is apparently laid in the pastoral region of North Italy. The date assigned to the poem is 38 BC. In the chiastic structure of the Eclogues, Eclogue 7 is paired with Eclogue 3, which also recounts an amoebaean contest between two herdsmen. The two contests have the same number of lines, but with a different arrangement. In Eclogue 3 the contest has 12 rounds, with each contestant singing two lines in a round; in Eclogue 7 the contest has 6 rounds, with each contestant singing 4 lines in a round. The contest in Eclogue 3 ended in a draw, while in Eclogue 7 Corydon is declared the winner.

Summary

A herdsman Meliboeus recounts how, when following an errant goat, he came across Daphnis sitting beneath a tree, along with a goatherd Corydon and a shepherd Thyrsis, by the river Mincius. The two young men are described as . Daphnis encourages him to sit down and listen to a () which is about to take place between the two young herdsmen. Meliboeus agrees despite the fact that Alcippe or Phyllis are not around to help look after his lambs. * Corydon opens the contest by asking the " Libethridan nymphs" (i.e. the

Muses In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...

) to help him make a song as good as they gave to Codrus; if he fails he will hang up his pipes on a sacred pine. Thyrsis responds by boastfully asking the Arcadian herdsmen to crown their growing poet's head with

ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

so that Codrus may split his sides with envy; or if Codrus praises his song excessively, they should wreathe his brow with cyclamen, to avert the evil eye from the future divinely inspired prophet. Envocation to Priapus

* Corydon says that "little Micon" dedicates a boar's head and a stag's antlers to Delia (i.e. Diana, the virgin goddess of hunting), but promises her a marble statue if she receives his gift favourably. Thyrsis responds by promising a bowl of milk and some honey cakes each year to

Priapus In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term ...

(the fertility god) and says has already made him a marble statue which he will exchange for a gold one if the herds give birth successfully. * Corydon addresses the sea-nymph Galatea, "sweeter than the

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenou ...

of Hybla" (a mountain in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, famous for its bees), "whiter than

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

s, more beautiful than white ivy", and begs her to come to him as soon as the bulls have returned home to their byre. Thyrsis also addresses Galatea (without naming her), wishing that he may seem to her "more bitter than

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

n herbs, pricklier than

butcher's broom ''Ruscus aculeatus'', known as butcher's-broom, is a low evergreen dioecious Eurasian shrub, with flat shoots known as cladodes that give the appearance of stiff, spine-tipped leaves. Small greenish flowers appear in spring, and are borne singly ...

, more worthless than washed up seaweed", if this day has not been longer for him than a year, and he orders the bullocks to return home. Trees painted on the wall of Livia's villa near Rome, contemporary with this poem * Corydon requests the springs, grass, and the shade of the arbutus tree to protect the cattle from the heat of summer; he describes the buds swelling on the vine. Thyrsis replies by describing a hearth, torches, a constant fire, doorposts black with soot; outside are the north wind, wolves harassing sheep, and torrential rivers. * Corydon describes the fruit of junipers and

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

s strewing the ground in autumn, a lovely time of year; but if the handsome Alexis were to depart, the rivers would dry up. Thyrsis in reply describes the grass dried up and dying, and vines providing too little shade; but if Phyllis comes rain will fall and everything will become green. * Corydon says the poplar, the

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

, the myrtle, and the bay tree are all the favourites of different gods; but as long as Phyllis loves hazels, then myrtles and bay trees will take second place. Thyrsis replies that

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergree ...

, pine, poplar and

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

are all beautiful in their different locations; but if the handsome Lycidas were to visit him more often, the ash and pine would yield their places to him. At the end Meliboeus reports that Thyrsis contended in vain, and from then on Corydon was regarded as the champion singer.

Characters

It was common for

Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...

and other ancient commentators to propose that the various characters mentioned in the Eclogues may also represent real persons or fellow poets in Virgil's circle in Rome; thus the character Menalcas in Eclogues 3, 5, 9, and 10 was thought to represent Virgil himself. Sometimes modern critics also make such identifications. For example, according to a theory by Rostagni, "Codrus", whom Corydon refers to as "my Codrus, (who) makes poems next to those of Phoebus himself", may be a pseudonym for Messalla.

Robin Nisbet Robert George Murdoch Nisbet, FBA (21 May 1925 – 14 May 2013), known as Robin Nisbet, was a British classicist and academic, specializing in Latin literature. From 1970 to 1992, he was Corpus Christi Professor of Latin at the University of O ...

(1995) found Rostagni's theory "convincing", though Savage (1963) found it "not convincing", taking the view that Codrus (the name of an ancient king) is a pseudonym for Gaius Maecenas (who claimed descent from kings). Codrus is also mentioned in 5.11, where Menalcas suggests to Mopsus that he should sing "praises of Alcon or criticisms of Codrus", suggesting that Codrus was a controversial figure.Flintoff (1986), p. 18. Savage (1963) suggests other identifications in the eclogue, for example, Daphnis = Octavian, Corydon = the poet Domitius Marsus, Thyrsis =

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

, Phyllis = Octavian's wife

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Roman emperor, Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption in ancient Rome, adoption into the J ...

, Galatea =

Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the last ...

, and so on. Savage's identifications in some cases assume a later date for the eclogues than is generally accepted. However, most more recent scholars have not supported his identifications and they view Eclogue 7 "as a poem about poetry, not about contemporary history and politics". Some of the characters occur in more than one Eclogue. Thus the narrator Meliboeus is found in Eclogue 1 as the unfortunate farmer who has been thrown off his land by a soldier; in Eclogue 3 he is the owner of a flock of sheep; here he is tending both sheep and goats. According to Eclogue 1.71 he appears to be a full citizen, not a slave. Unlike other herdsmen he appears to have no love interest, either male or female. The goatherd Corydon also occurs in Eclogue 2, and there are clear connections between the two Corydons: both sing in praise of the boy Alexis, both love hunting, and in both poems Corydon imitates parts of Theocritus's Idyll 11 (the song to Galatea). Although Corydon and Thyrsis are described as "Arcadian", this is presumably a poetic term indicative of their ability in singing, since the scene is set near the river Mincius in northern Italy. It has been noted that both the name "Corydon" and the phrase "Arcadians both", as well as certain other details in the poem, seem to derive from an epigram by a certain Erucius in the

Palatine Anthology The ''Palatine Anthology'' (or ''Anthologia Palatina''), sometimes abbreviated ''AP'', is the collection of Greek poems and epigrams discovered in 1606 in the Palatine Library in Heidelberg. It is based on the lost collection of Constantinus Ceph ...

(6.96). Thyrsis is not mentioned elsewhere in Virgil, but the name occurs in Theocritus (he is the Sicilian goatherd who opens the whole book). The names Meliboeus, Alexis, Phyllis, and Codrus are not found in Theocritus and appear to be characters invented by Virgil. Phyllis is mentioned in Eclogues 3, 5, 7, and 10, always as a desirable character, and appears to be portrayed as the village beauty.

Corydon's victory

Many critics have discussed why Thyrsis loses the contest. One common observation is that Corydon is more positive, mentioning pleasant images such as thyme, mossy springs, autumn fruit and so on, while Thyrsis is aggressive and negative, using images such as bitter herbs, winter cold, and dried up grass. Fantazzi and Querbach (1985) give a detailed analysis of each round, pointing out how, in the last round, for example, Corydon chooses euphonious names of trees and includes the names of four gods; whereas although Thyrsis matches the Corydon's pattern skilfully, his four ablative plural words ending in ''-īs, -īs, -īs, -īs'', combined with words containing more than one ''s'' like and , introduce an unwelcome hissing sound, and he says nothing about the gods. Paraskeviotis notes that in this Eclogue, Virgil imitates Theocritus's Idyll 5, in which the goatherd Comatas who begins the contest also wins an unexpected victory. The final line, however ("from that time Corydon is Corydon for us") recalls the end of Idyll 8 ("from that time Daphnis became first among the herdsmen"), thus equating Corydon with the legendary founder of bucolic poetry. In Paraskeviotis's view, in the victory of Corydon over Thyrsis, Virgil was claiming his own superiority to Theocritus. Cucchiarelli (2011) also sees Corydon as Virgil's champion and Thyrsis as Theocritean.

Apollo and Dionysus

It has been argued by Cucchiarelli (2011) that Corydon and Thyrsis also differ in their association with different gods. Corydon begins by praising the

and Phoebus (= Apollo, god of poetry) and goes on to address Delia (= Diana, Apollo's sister), thus associating himself with Apollo; while Thyrsis, by calling for a wreathe of ivy (associated with

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

, the god of wine), and addressing

(son of Bacchus), connects himself with Bacchus (= Dionysus). His name ''Thyrsis'' also recalls the Greek word '' thyrsos'', a kind of wand used in Dionysiac rites. Symbolically, Cucchiarelli argues, these gods can be seen as representing the two major political figures of the age, Octavian and

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

, and their respective parties. Already in 41 BC Antony was being worshipped in Ephesos as a second Dionysus, while Octavian came to be increasingly associated with Apollo. In Eclogue 4, dated 40 BC, the balance between the symbolism of the two gods can be seen to represent the equilibrium between the two parties achieved at that time (see

Second Triumvirate The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created for Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November 43 BC with a ...

). In lines 61–2 of Eclogue 7, in the last round of the contest, Corydon also balances the gods, those representing Antony (who claimed descent from Hercules), and those representing Octavian (who claimed descent from Venus): :''The poplar is most pleasing to Alcides (=

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

), the vine to Iacchus (= Bacchus/Dionysus),'' :''the myrtle to beautiful

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, and his own bay-tree to Phoebus (= Apollo).'' Thyrsis in his reply, however, does not mention any gods, which may be counted as another reason he failed to win the contest.Cucchiarelli (2011), pp. 171–4.

Gallery

Aristide Maillol (1926), illustrating Eclogue 7"> File:Eclogae & Georgica Latine et Germanice (1927,0920 (27) (cropped).jpg, alt= File:Eclogae & Georgica Latine et Germanice (1927,0920 (28) (cropped).jpg, alt= File:Eclogae & Georgica Latine et Germanice (1927,0920 (29) (cropped).jpg, alt= File:Eclogae & Georgica Latine et Germanice (1927,0920 (30) (cropped).jpg, alt= File:Eclogae & Georgica Latine et Germanice (1927,0920 (31) (cropped).jpg, alt= File:Eclogae & Georgica Latine et Germanice (1927,0920 (32) (cropped).jpg, alt= File:Eclogae & Georgica Latine et Germanice (1927,0920 (33) (cropped).jpg, alt=

References

Sources and further reading

* Cucchiarelli, A. (2011)
"Ivy and Laurel: Divine Models in Virgil's ''Eclogues''"
''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', Vol. 106 (2011), pp. 155–178. * Dance, C. M. X. (2014)
''Literary Laughter in Augustan Poetry: Vergil, Horace, and Ovid''
Columbia University PhD thesis * Eckerman, C. (2015)
"Thyrsis' Arcadian Shepherd in Virgil's Seventh ''Eclogue''".
''The Classical Quarterly'', New Series, Vol. 65, No. 2 (DECEMBER 2015), pp. 669–672. * Egan, R. B. (1996)
"Corydon's Winning Words in ''Eclogue 7''"
''Phoenix'', Vol. 50, No. 3/4 (Autumn - Winter, 1996). * Fantazzi, C; Querbach, C. W. (1985)
"Sound and Substance: A Reading of Virgil's Seventh Eclogue"
''Phoenix'', Vol. 39, No. 4 (Winter, 1985), pp. 355–367. * * (

Public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

) * Kennedy, D. F. (1987)
": Virgil, Gallus and Arcadia"
''Hermathena'', No. 143, In honor of D. E. W. Wormell (Winter 1987), pp. 47–59. * Moch, K. E. (2017)
"''Certamen Magnum'': Competition and Song Exchange in Vergil’s Eclogues"
''Vergilius'' (1959–), 63, 63–92. * Nethercut, W. R. (1968)
"Vergil and Horace in Bucolic 7"
''The Classical World'', Vol. 62, No. 3 (Nov., 1968), pp. 93–96+98 * Nisbet, R. G. (1995)
"Review of WV Clausen, A Commentary on Virgil, Eclogues"
''The Journal of Roman Studies'', 85, 320–321. * (

) * Paraskeviotis, G. C. (2014)
"''Eclogue 7'', 69–70. Vergil's Victory over Theocritus"
''Rivista di cultura classica e medioevale'', 265–271. * Savage, J. J. H. (1963)
"The Art of the Seventh Eclogue of Vergil"
''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'', Vol. 94 (1963), pp. 248–267. * * Sullivan, M. B. (2002)
": Divine and Earthly Competition in Virgil's Seventh ''Eclogue''".
''Vergilius'' (1959–), Vol. 48 (2002), pp. 40–54. * Waite S.V. F. (1972)
"The Contest in Vergil's Seventh Eclogue"
''Classical Philology'', Vol. 67, No. 2 (Apr., 1972), pp. 121–123. {{Authority control Poetry by Virgil