Ten epigrams in the Anthology are ascribed to Roman emperors or their nearest kin: one to Germanicus, one to Trajan, three to Hadrian, two to Julian; for the other three, alternatives are offered – Germanicus or Hadrian; Trajan or Hadrian; Germanicus or Tiberius or Hadrian. In addition to these ten, three epigrams by Hadrian have survived in inscriptions.

It is recorded that Germanicus, Tiberius, Hadrian, and Julian wrote Greek verse; the appearance of their names at the head of epigrams in the Anthology is not in itself surprising, and the discovery of Hadrian's inscriptional epigrams is a warning against prejudice. The proper course is to judge each epigram on its merits and at least to determine whether it contains anything inconsistent with the ascription.

GERMANIGUS AND TIBERIUS

The three epigrams ascribed to Germanicus, alone or as an alternative, are all variations on themes popular in his lifetime. Where alternatives are offered in the heading, as in 9.17 and 9.387, the others are always Roman emperors, and though it may be doubted which author should be preferred, there is no particular reason to reject all of them. The commentary will show that the ascription of 9.17 and 9.18 to Germanicus is free from objection, and that the likeliest of three Imperial claimants to 9.387 is Tiberius.

TRAJAN

One epigram, 11.418, is ascribed to ‘the emperor Trajan’, without alternative. It is a satirical distich on a theme popular at the time.