The collection of poems by numerous, anonymous imitators was long believed to be the works of Anacreon himself.
The poems were published in 1554 with a Latin translation by Henri Estienne, known as Stephanus, but little is known about the origins of the manuscript.
One of those volumes was returned to Heidelberg but the other remained in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
In the 17th century, Thomas Stanley translated the Anacreontea into English verse.
They also display literary references and styles more common to the actual time of their composition.