BION, the second of the three Greek bucolic poets, was born in the neighbourhood of Smyrna,—according to Suidas, at Phlossa on the River Meles. The few facts known to us of his life are to be gathered from the beautiful ’Επιτάφιος Bιωvoς of his friend and scholar Moschus. From his account it appears that Bion left his native country and, during the latter part of his life, resided in Sicily and cultivated the form of poetry peculiarly associated with that island. He was contemporary with Theocritus and somewhat older than Moschus. His death was due to poison, administered to him by some jealous rivals who afterwards suffered the penalty of their crime. The subjects of his verses are described by Moschus as “Love and Pan;” but though his works are included in the general class of bucolic poetry, they have little of the pastoral imagery and description characteristic of Theocritus. They breathe a more refined air of sentiment, and show traces of the overstrained reflection frequently observable in later developments of pastoral poetry. The longest and best of his extant works is the Lament for Adonis (’Επιτάφιος Άδώνιδος), the prototype of many modern poems. His other pieces are short and in many cases fragmentary. Two of the Idylls (xix. and xx.) of Theocritus are frequently ascribed to him. Bion and Moschus are edited separately by Hermann (1849) and Ziegler (1869). The best annotated editions are those of Heindorf (1810), Meineke (1856), Ahrens (1855-9), Fritsche (1870), all of which contain also the works of Theocritus. The Epitaphius Adonidis is edited separately by Ahrens, 1854.