1. In this idyll, how does Theocritus present family and urban life in Hellenistic Alexandria? What matters to the two women?

2. How does he present religious festivals such as the festival of Adonis? Are they something that should be taken seriously?

3. In the spell, what feelings does Sophia direct Anubis to create in gorgonian, and what behavior is the expected result of these feelings?

4. What aspects of this spell appear distinctively Hellenistic? What aspects fit with modern understandings of sexual attraction?

5. What types of merchandise are being traded along the east coast of Africa, and for what purpose?

6. What does this document suggest about consumers in the Hellenistic world, including those in Africa?