Palladas

Pallada (Greek Παλλαδᾶς ) was a late ancient Greek epigrams. The dating of his life is controversial in research. For a long time it was assumed that he is said to have lived around 400 in Alexandria. In 2009, however, Kevin Wilkinson put forward arguments that Pallada has lived rather in the time of Constantine.

From his life only known, what can be inferred from his epigrams, of which about 160 preserved in the Anthologia Palatina. Accordingly, he was a pagan, grammarians ( such as teachers ) and, at least according to research opinion before Wilkinson ( of an incorrect assignment takes ), enthusiastic admirer of the pagan philosopher Hypatia murdered 415:

In Alexandria in the late 4th century there had been clashes between pagans and Christians. 391 Theodosius I 'd ban the pagan cult practices formally; shortly after the Serapeum was destroyed after there had murdered Gentiles Christians in Alexandria. Pallada ( if one accepts the assignment ) commented thus the impotence of the old gods with bitter mockery. However, it has been questioned before Wilkinson, that the poem refers to the philosopher Hypatia or that it ever comes of Pallada.

As the Tychaion, the Temple of Tyche, embodiment of happiness, had been converted into a public house: And you, good luck, wear it, you changeable in the future ridicule; for your own happiness you could not get. The earlier you had a temple, wast at the age of Schankweib, and a warm drink you give now the mortals. Or about the Eros, whose cult image had melted: The blacksmith turned the Eros to the skillet. And not without reason: but can also heat it glowing.

Other objects of his poetry were complaints about his profession and his shrewish wife, which grew up to misogyny.

His poems seem to have been widely publicized, one found himself on a Latrinenwand in Ephesus, another in a holy grave of the island Megiste. The judgments about him in the modern era are divided. Isaac Casaubon esteemed him low. Prosper Mérimée (19th century ), however, put a misogynistic epigram of Pallada ( Πᾶσα γυνὴ χόλος ἐστίν ) as a motto for his novella Carmen.

Kevin Wilkinson has studied the entire tradition to Pallada in several studies and came to a strongly deviating from the earlier research results. Thus Pallada lived in the early 4th century in the time of Constantine. In the late antique tradition, however, parts of the earlier poems of Pallada were then taken, not a rare procedure, and attributed partly wrong in research. 2013 Wilkinson has issued a fragmentary papyrus codex containing Greek epigrams and Pallada is attributed. The manuscript and also the style also point to the early 4th century. Therefore, the above described widespread acceptance older (lifetime in the early 5th century) is doubtful, at least.

Expenditure

• Kevin Wilkinson ( ed.): New Epigrams of Pallada: A Fragmentary papyrus codex. Durham ( NC), 2013.