Muse e ninfe nella settima ecloga di Virgilio

The Libethrian Nymphs invoked by Corydon at the beginning of his song (Egl. 7,21) should not be identified with the Muses, as most commentators usually do on account of Servius and Servius Danielis’ assimilation. The initial invocation to the Nymphs replicates the distinction, operating in Theocritus’ Seventh Idyll, between the inspiration bestowed by the Muses only to the great poets, and the inspiration coming from the Nymphs, who assist just minor singers, like the shepherd Corydon. The precious and learned epithet is probably derived from Euphorion (fr. 32 van Groningen = SH 416), but it appears also in two anonymous Hellenistic fragments (SH 993 and SH 988). The identification of the Libethrian Nymphs with the Muses was suggested by Servius and Servius Danielis in their commentary on the Eclogues (ad Ecl. 7,21) and is generally accepted by modern scholars.