Theocritus of Chios: Poems

“—Of Chios: orator; pupil of Metrodorus of the school of Isocrates. He wrote Maxims or Citations. He was a political opponent of the historian Theopompus.1 His works now current are a History of Libya and Wonderful Letters. ”

Suidas Lexicon: Theocritus

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“Antigonus the one-eyed king of Macedon he greatly provoked by reproaching him with his defect. One day, when Theocritus was not yet in his place at table, the king sent his chief cook Eutropion to request him to come to him and explain matters. When the cook had come and given his message more than once, Theocritus exclaimed ‘I know you're willing to serve me up raw to the Cyclops,’ thus reproaching the king with his defect and the cook with his profession. ‘Very well,’ rejoined the cook, ‘you'll pay for not keeping your silly mouth shut by losing your head,’ and so went back and told the king, who sent and put Theocritus to death.”

Plutarch Education [on Theocritus]

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Once, too, Alexander wrote to the cities of Ionia, beginning with Chios, to send him purple, his object being to clothe all his suite in purple robes. Theocritus the sophist was present when the letter was read to the Chians, and exclaimed that he now understood Homer's line:

was ta'en of purple death and forceful fate.

Hom. Il. 5.832

Athenaeus Doctors at Dinner

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“… like Theocritus who, when two men, one a stranger and the other a known thief, asked the loan of his strigil or skin-scraper at the baths, put them off with a jest, exclaiming ‘You I don't know and you I do.’”

Plutarch Shamefacedness

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“Theopompus of Chios in his Counsels to Alexander says of his fellow-citizen Theocritus ‘He drinks out of silver and gold and uses other such vessels for the service of the table, though once, far from being able to drink from cups of silver, he could not even afford cups of bronze, but had to be content with earthenware, and that often half-broken.’”

Athenaeus Doctors at Dinner

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“Theocritus of Chios, when asked how we should live the best and most righteous lives, answered ‘If we refrain from doing ourselves what we blame others for doing.’”

[Stobaeus] Munich Anthology

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“‘No man ever won virtue3 by audacity, but rather by nobility of character and reasonableness:’

Theocritus.4” Apostolius Proverbs

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Inscription

According to Bryon in his treatise On Theocritus , Theocritus of Chios composed an Inscription upon him:

To Hermias the Eunuch, slave of Eubulus, this empty tomb was raised by the empty-minded Aristotle, who respecting the lawless5 nature of his belly chose to dwell at the mouth of the Borborus instead of in the Academy.6

Plutarch Exile : Aristotle was abused by Theocritus of Chios because he was content with his life at the courts of Philip and Alexander, saying ‘chose to dwell’ etc. It seems there is a river near Pella called by the Macedonians Borborus or Mud.7

Didymus On Demosthenes, from a 2nd-Century Papyrus

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1 cf. Str. 14. 645; Theop. also was a Chian

2 the original is ‘his eyes were ta'en,’ etc.; the meaning of purple in this passage is still in doubt: cf. A.P. 9. 434

3 including excellence of all kinds

4 the citation as it stands is very nearly metrical

5 other cit. have ‘unrestrained’

6 the suggestion is that Arist. withdrew to Macedonia because he could not earn a livelihood at Athens

7 cf. Euseb. Praep. Ev. 15. 793, Apost. 6. 38 a; Diog. L. 5. 11 （1-2）