Thallus
（
Θαλλός), of Miletus, an epigrammatic poet, five of whose epigrams are preserved in the Greek Anthology. Of these the first is in honour of the birthday of a Roman emperor, or one of the imperial family (
Καῖσαρ), on which account Bovinus supposes the poet to be the same person who is mentioned in an extant inscription as a freedman of Germanicus (
Mém. de l'Acad. des Inscr. vol. iii. p. 361).
The name is given in various forms in the titles to the epigrams; the first is inscribed simply
Θάλλου, the second and fourth
Θαλοῦ Μιλησίου, the fifth
Θαλλοῦ Μιλησίου, and the third
Θυηλάου, which is perhaps a corruption of
Θυΐλλου.
The form
Θαλοῦ may be explained by considering
Θαλλός and
Θαλῆς as mere variations of the same word, as in many similar double forms; or perhaps it may have arisen from a confusion between the poet and the celebrated philosopher, Thales of Miletus; but there is no ground whatever for supposing that the two epigrams are to be ascribed to the philosopher.
The name
Θαλλός occurs in Athenian inscriptions. (Pape,
Wörterbuc/h d. Griech. Eigennamen ; Brunck.
Anal. vol. ii. p. 164; Jacobs,
Anth. Graec vol. ii. p. 150, vol. xiii. p. 956; Fabric.
Bibl. Graec. vol. iv. p. 496.)
[
P.S]
