Palladios

Palladius (Greek Palladios) is known here chiefly as the recipient of nine letters drawn from the correspondence of Libanius of Antioch (4th century) and Isidore of Pelusium (early 5th century). The name was extremely common in the late antique East, and Libanius in fact addressed several different men named Palladius among his vast correspondence, so this record likely conflates more than one individual rather than a single attested person. He cannot be securely identified with any of the better-known bearers of the name (such as Palladius of Helenopolis, author of the Lausiac History, or the praetorian prefect Palladius), and no biography should be inferred beyond what the letters themselves attest. Honestly assessed, he is an obscure figure: a correspondent whose role, dates, and precise identity are not recoverable from the surviving evidence.