Idyll XVII

Idyll XVII, also titled Εγκώμιον εις Πτολεμαίον ('The Panegyric of Ptolemy'), is a poem by the 3rd-century BC Greek poet Theocritus.^[1]

Analysis

The poem is a panegyric or encomium of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who reigned from 285 to 247 BC.^[1] Hauler, in his Life of Theocritus, dates the poem about 259 BC, but it may have been many years earlier.^[2] The references to historical personages and events, coupled with a comparison with Idyll XVI, point to 273 as the date of the poem.^[1] The Ptolemies, like Alexander, traced their descent from Heracles.^[1] Ptolemy I, son of Lagus, was deified about 283, and his queen Berenice between 279 and 275.^[1] According to Andrew Lang, "The poet praises Ptolemy Philadelphus in a strain of almost religious adoration."^[2]