Palladas and Christian Polemic

Abstract

Eduard Norden's well known claim that pagans only read the New Testament when they wanted to refute it has never been seriously challenged. During the first four centuries of the Christian era the only pagans who can be shown to have had a thorough acquaintance with Christian writings and knowledge of Christian teachings are Celsus, Porphyry, and the Apostate Julian —all of whom wrote detailed refutations of Christianity.Yet it has often been alleged that there are allusions to Christian doctrines and even echoes of New Testament phrases in the epigrams of Palladas of Alexandria. Now this, if true, would be of great interest and importance; for although it has, from time to time, been contended that Palladas was a Christian, there can in my opinion be little doubt that, like so many other schoolmasters in fourth and fifth century Egypt, he was a pagan. It is sufficient to refer to his caustic couplet on the monks, his numerous poems on Τύχη so characteristic of pagan writers of the day, and his ironic comments on the ‘conversion’ of the statues of the old Olympians, and on some Victories adapted to herald the victory of Christ (further evidence is adduced in § II).