Musicians were not the only people who liked the idea of the life of a shepherd. Many painters painted scenes in the country with sheep being looked after by a shepherd. Poets wrote about shepherds. The shepherd’s way of life was thought to be the ideal way to live. It was called Arcadian. Poems like these are called pastoral, after the term for herding. Some early examples are the "Idylls" of Theocritus, and the "Eclogues" of Virgil.