Pholoe appears in Horatian lyric as a woman who spurns her lover, embodying the cruel or indifferent beloved who refuses affection; her name may connect to a centaur from myth, suggesting wildness. The character represents the suffering caused by unreturned desire, her rejection prompting poetic laments and philosophical reflections on love's inequalities. Pholoe demonstrates how classical love poetry creates a gallery of female types, from yielding to resistant, allowing poets to explore the full spectrum of erotic experience.

Pholoe appears in Horace's Odes as a woman who flees from her pursuer, representing the reluctant beloved who rejects or evades courtship. Her name connects to mythological figures who fled male pursuit. Poets invoke Pholoe when depicting unrequited love, the chase of courtship, and feminine resistance to male desire. The character embodies the woman who will not be caught, whose resistance forms part of love's game or represents genuine rejection. Pholoe demonstrates classical poetry's attention to feminine agency in rejecting unwanted attention.