Quizzes
Read Next
Moschus
Greek poet and grammarian
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Quick Facts
- Flourished:
- c. 150 bc, b. Syracuse, Sicily [now in Italy]
Moschus (flourished c. 150 bc, b. Syracuse, Sicily [now in Italy]) was a Greek pastoral poet and grammarian whose only surviving works are three short extracts from his Bucolica, a longer piece translated as Love the Runaway, and an epigram on Eros, or love, personified as a plowman. The short epic poem Europa is perhaps correctly attributed to him, the Lament for Bion, considered an excellent work, less certainly so. No traces of his activity as a grammarian survive, with the possible exception of a reference by the Greek grammarian Athenaeus to a Moschus who wrote a work on Rhodian words.