La “musa non estranea”: origini epicoriche e dimensione performativa nella poesia teocritea

Epigram 25 Gallavotti = 27 Gow attributed to Theocritus may be one of the earliest references to the poet and his work, probably dating back to the early Helleni- stic age. It may be an epigraphic composition affixed to a statue of Theocritus in Syra- cuse, alluding to the presence, in the same place or geographical area, of other statues dedicated to Homer and to the memory of the Ionian rhapsode Cynaethus of Chios. Interpreted within this referential context, the text of the epigram seems to contain al- lusions to the epichoric inspiration and performative dimension of Theocritus’ poetry.