Synesius of Cyrene, epist. 121 ; Theocritus 11, 1-3 ; Callimachus epigr. 46, 1-6 (Pfeiffer) ; and Bion, fr. 16 (Reed) are linked by their treatment of the Polyphemus-Galatea story, first introduced into Greek literature by Philoxenus (see the author => 70-03750).
The love of Polyphemus for Galatea, a minor motif in Philoxenus ' humorous dithyramb, was nevertheless the element that captured most strongly the Hellenistic imagination.
Yet the Hellenistic versions, however they manipulate the motif, seem to keep Philoxenus ' poem firmly in mind throughout.
We must remain suspicious that if we had more poetry written in the late 5th and 4th cents., Hellenistic verse would begin to look far less innovative than it does at present.
