Cercidas was a citizen of Megalopolis in ancient Greece during the 3rd century BCE. He lived in the Hellenistic period, a time of great political change after Alexander the Great. Cercidas had a dual public life: he was both a practical statesman and a philosophical poet. He served as an envoy and lawgiver for the Achaean League, actively involved in the military and political affairs of his era.

As a writer, Cercidas is associated with the Cynic school of philosophy. He is best known for a collection of poems called the Meliambi, written in a mixed meter known as lyric iambics. These poems survive only in fragments. They used a blunt, often humorous style to deliver social criticism and moral lessons, targeting themes like wealth, hypocrisy, and foolishness common to Cynic thought. According to modern scholars, his innovative style shows the influence of earlier poets and is seen as a forerunner to later satirical traditions.

Cercidas is significant because he represents a bridge between philosophy, poetry, and politics. His work provides a window into how Cynic ideas were spread through popular literature outside major cultural centers. His life presents a complex picture of a Hellenistic intellectual who was simultaneously a pragmatic political actor and a moralizing poet.