C.'s monograph offers a study of objects and materiality in the Theocritean corpus, adopting a feminist approach informed by New Materialism and ecocriticism. The book seeks to highlight the ‘multiple entanglements between human and non-human agents’ (p. x) in the Idylls and advocates for moving beyond anthropocentric perspectives in the study of Theocritus and ancient literature more broadly. C. focuses particularly on ‘underrepresented agents at the margins’ (p. 210) within Theocritus’ poems, aiming to reveal their material agency.
The introduction provides a useful discussion of material agency and contains interesting reflections on Theocritus’ sensitivity to materiality, despite his position as a court poet writing in an urban context (p. 5).
The first chapter, ‘The Cup’, centres on the ekphrasis of the goatherd's cup in Idyll 1, emphasising the vitality of its plant decoration (p. 13). After a brief discussion of key passages (Id. 1.27–31 and 55–6) C. shifts to a survey of theoretical approaches – Ecocriticism, Material Ecocriticism, New Materialism, Oiko-criticism and Dark Ecology – while critiquing anthropocentric readings of Theocritean pastoral. She argues that an emphasis on material agency challenges the traditional scholarly perception of Theocritus’ bucolic world as one where nature is peacefully under human control (pp. 41–2).
Chapter 2, ‘The Woman’, introduces Material Feminism as a theoretical lens, exploring the depiction of the anonymous woman on the goatherd's cup and her intertextual connection to Hesiodic passages (W&D 519–23; Th. 573–84). The woman's ambiguous status – simultaneously resembling a sculpted figure and a real-life woman surrounded by suitors (pp. 60–1) – is examined in relation to Theocritus’ engagement with Homeric models. While C. acknowledges the well-established parallel between Theocritus’ cup and Homer's Shield of Achilles, her analysis remains somewhat general. She proceeds to consider other Theocritean representations of women and objects, including the magic iunx in Idyll 2 and the tapestries of Idyll 15. Her discussion of female labour in Idyll 15 (p. 83) is insightful, particularly in its contrast with Hesiodic representations of work. Noting the allusions to the Homeric hypotext in the depiction of female garments in Id. 15 (l. 79 ~ Hom. Od. 10.222–3), C. is right to ask, following J. Burton (1995), whether the Homeric allusion ‘is meant to be perceived as intended by the character in the poem or only by the poet creating the character’ (p. 85). However, her analysis of Homeric intertextuality (p. 85) would have benefited from greater engagement with existing scholarship (see esp. U. Ott, Die Kunst des Gegensatzes in Theokrits Hirtengedichten [1969]).
Chapter 3, ‘The Fisherman and the Rock’, begins with an analysis of the second vignette on the goatherd's cup – the old fisherman on the rugged rock. C. rightly contrasts this figure, embodying ponos, with the vainly labouring suitors in the first vignette (p. 91). She then discusses other Theocritean representations of rocks and landscapes (Id. 7.45–8, 21.6–13) and the motif of the ‘stony heart’ (Id. 23.19–20). The chapter contains engaging reflections on the materiality of poetic exchange in Idyll 7 (p. 111) and the interaction between human feet and stones in lines 7.25–6 (p. 112). I wonder if one should not go a step further and reflect on the possible metapoetic play on the notion of feet and walking that became, in Augustan poetry, a very common pun involving poetological reflections. Moreover, an examination of ancient discussions on onomatopoeia, particularly in relation to Theocritus’ attentiveness to natural sounds (pp. 102–3, 112), would have strengthened this section (see esp. K. Gutzwiller, ‘Literary Criticism’, in: J.J. Clauss and M. Cuypers [edd.], A Companion to Hellenistic Literature [2010], pp. 337–65).
Chapter 4, ‘The Plaited Trap’, examines the third vignette on the cup – the boy plaiting a cage for cicadas. This chapter is particularly compelling, as C. explores the metapoetic implications of plaiting (p. 149) and connects this motif to the ivory distaff in Idyll 28. She critiques the lack of distinction in scholarship between weaving and spinning as metapoetic metaphors (p. 159). Recent work, partly unavailable to C., addresses this issue (see K. Gutzwiller, ‘Under the Sign of the Distaff: Aetia 1.5, Spinning and Erinna’, CQ 70 [2020], 177–91, and now the Dictionnaire du poétique, s.vv. ‘Filage, tressage’, ‘Tissage’). Her analysis of the affinities between Theocritus as a poet and the distaff of Idyll 28 as an example of ‘similarities between humans and nonhumans’ (p. 165) is intriguing and offers a valuable perspective on the poet's engagement with materiality.
Chapter 5, ‘Beyond the Cup’, lacks a clear thematic thread. Beginning with Polyphemus in Idylls 6 and 11 as a reworking of Homeric episodes, the chapter moves to discussions of the syrinx in Theocritus and concludes with John Flaxman's recreation of Theocritus’ cup while the rationale for these transitions is unclear.
Overall, the book presents an ambitious theoretical framework, but often prioritises contemporary literary theory at the expense of close textual analysis. The sheer volume of contemporary critical approaches and frames – often introduced without clear direction – detracts from the engagement with Theocritus’ text. Key scholars, such as Ott, are overlooked, and the absence of discussion on ancient commentaries is striking. For instance, Gutzwiller's work on sound in Theocritus could have enriched C.'s discussion of natural aural elements (pp. 102–3, 112). Furthermore, some theoretical applications feel tenuous; for example, the relevance of A. Gell's (1998) ‘homunculus-effect’ to Comatas in Idyll 7 (p. 100) remains unconvincing, at least in this reviewer's opinion.
Given its focus on materiality, the book's lack of engagement with ancient craftsmanship and artisanal practices is surprising. Discussions of objects such as the iunx in Idyll 2 (p. 68) would have benefited from references to its massive presence on red-figured vases of Apulia in the decades preceding the literary activity of Theocritus. Instead, comparisons with modern murals and sound installations (pp. 57, 140–5) feel disconnected from the core textual analysis. The work also contains some material inaccuracies, such as missing eisthesis for pentameters (p. 176) and improperly marked grave accents on the final syllable of isolated words (p. 177).
The monograph's structure is challenging to follow, as it shifts between themes (women, rocks, objects) rather than maintaining a clear progression through Theocritus’ poems. Some of C.'s claims – such as her critique of the Enlightenment's literary approach as elitist and hegemonic (p. 17) – border on ideological overstatement, raising concerns about potential anachronisms in the framing of ancient texts. Finally, the predominantly anglophone bibliography is a limitation as it restricts the study's engagement with broader scholarly debates.
In sum, while C.'s book tackles an important and timely subject, the execution is somewhat disappointing. Its theoretical breadth often overshadows textual analysis, and its methodological approach raises questions about the balance between contemporary theoretical discourse and engagement with the ancient text.
