P.CtYBR inv. 4000, owned by Yale University's Beinecke Library, comprises twenty-four pages and contains Greek elegiac epigrams. Of the approximately 60 epigrams that are partially extant, two were previously known from the Greek Anthology, but the others survive nowhere else and appear here for the first time in a modern edition. In spite of the fact that there is no explicit declaration of authorship in the remaining portions of the codex, all signs point to a single author who can be identified with confidence as Palladas of Alexandria, who is known from the Greek Anthology. Palladas has a distinctive poetic voice - highly personal and topical, with a tendency towards bitterly pessimistic observation on the world around him. Among other points of interest, there is a satire of the victory titles claimed by the emperors Diocletian and Galerius, a lament on the destruction of Alexandria, a curious mention of the sufferings of the Egyptian goddess Triphis, and lampoons of men from Hermopolis. This editio princeps contains a substantial introduction, diplomatic transcription and edited Greek text on facing pages, commentary, indexes, and photographic plates.
Publication Type
- Book