ABSTRACT
Palladas was a grammarian in Alexandria. Some 150 epigrams are transmitted under his name in the Palatine Anthology, with 60 more found in a fragmentary papyrus. Most of his poems fall into the category of scoptic epigrams (mocking, for example, an unknown Gessios or women). He is often thought to have been active in the second half of the fourth century, but Wilkinson argues that his dates should be moved to the first quarter of the fourth century (Wilkinson 2012, 54–6). For arguments against abandoning the traditional date of Palladas, see Cameron 2016b and Floridi 2016. All we know about his life comes from his epigrams, which are often read biographically (see Kaster 1988, 327–9), although they may sometimes be only literary and generic. Palladas appears to have despised his profession; he complains of poverty and of being cheated of his fees by his students, whom he charged one solidus a year. He also received a salary from public funds (σύνταξις), of which he was deprived late in life (if this is the meaning of AP 9.175 = Anthology no. 1).
