Balbilla was a court poet and friend of Hadrian and companion or lady in waiting to his wife, Vibia Sabina. In 129 CE, she accompanied them to the Valley of the Kings in Ancient Egypt. Balbilla was commissioned to record the party's return visit from 19 to 21 November 130 CE. Balbilla inscribed three epigrams in Aeolic Greek, known as 'epigrammata', on the legs of the Colossi of Memnon. The statue may have reminded Balbilla of the sculptures on Mount Nemrut and the mausoleum of her ancestor, Antiochus I Theos of Commagene, the descendants of whom she references in her poems. Although the epigrammata were approved public inscriptions, in honor of the Roman imperial family, they are somewhat akin to graffiti. They have elements of wit, history and mythology written in an Homeric tone. The poems display good use of metaphors, verbal and sound echoes. Inspired by Sappho, Balbilla also used traditional lyric themes: the love of songs and a liking for the Muses.