Anacreon, the Greek poet who sang of love and pleasures of wine, has exerted a strong influence on artists through the ages. He was the subject of two eponymous works by Rameau, both short acts de ballet in one act. The first was originally given at Fontainebleau on October 23, 1754, to a libretto by Cahusac, while the second appeared three years later, when it was added as an appendage to a revival of Rameau's comédie ballet Les Surprises de l'Amour given at the Paris Opéra on May 31, 1757. Despite the implications of the terminology, the acte de ballet included sung music in addition to dance; it is therefore akin to a one-act opera.

The earlier Anacreon is in fact notable for including fewer dances than are normally encountered in such works, and Rameau's biographer Cuthbert Girdlestone has drawn attention to the high quality of the airs and also the remarkable sequence that opens the work, a ritornello, or rondo-like structure.

The second, and better-known Anacreon has a libretto by Pierre-Joseph Bernard (who was also the librettist of Rameau's great tragédie en musique Castor et Pollux of 1737) which is constructed with satisfying symmetry. Both the opening and closing sections emphasize the central argument of the plot: Anacreon's assertions that love and drink are mutually compatible. The followers of Bacchus challenge such perceived profanities and a dramatic battle follows in which Anacreon and his cohorts give way to the pleasures of drink. Love now appears to upbraid Anacreon for deserting his lover, Lycoris. Ultimately compromise is reached, the opposed forces agreeing that love and drink can co-exist.

While these charming scores may not be among Rameau's greatest works, both contain much enchanting music, the 1757 version quickly taking on a life of its own as an independent work.

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