Sopater

• a Greek proper name, e. g. a victim of Verres: Halicyensis, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 28, § 68.—Another, a witness against Verres, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 39, § 85.

(Σώπατρος), historical.

1. One of the generals elected by the Syracusans on the murder of Hieronymus in B. C. 215 (Liv. 24.23, 25).

2. A general of Philip V., king of Macedonia, crossed over to Africa in B. C. 203, with a body of 4000 troops and some money, in order to assist the Carthaginians. He was taken prisoner by the Romans, together with many of his soldiers, and Philip sent an embassy to Rome to solicit their release. (Liv. 30.26, 42.)

3. An Acarnanian, the commander of Philip's garrison at Chalcis, was slain with most of his troops in B. C. 200. (Liv. 31.23.)

4. One of the generals of Perseus, slain in battle with the Romans in B. C. 171. (Liv. 42.66.)

5. Two Sicilians of this name are mentioned by Cicero in his orations against Verres. (Cic. Ver. 2.28, 4.39.)

(Σώπατρος), literary.

1. Of Paphos, a writer of parody and burlesque (φλυακογράφος), who lived in the time of Alexander the Great, and continued to flourish down to the reign of Ptolemy II., as Athenaeus (2.71, b.) informs us, on the authority of the poet himself : his period may therefore be regarded as the forty years from B. C. 323 to 283 (Clinton, F. H. vol. ii. s. a. 283). He is frequently mentioned by Athenaeus, who occasionally calls him Φάκιος, which seems to be a nickname, derived from the word φακῆ (lentile-porridge, which appears to have been the title of one of Sopater's plays), and applied to him as a punning variation upon Πάφιος. Works

The following titles of his plays are preserved by Athenaeus and Suidas (s.v. Suidas has made the mistake of distinguishing two Sopaters, the one a comedian and the other a parodist) : -- Βακχίς Βακχίδος γάμος Βακχίδος μνηστῆρες Γαλάται Εὐβονλοθεόμβροτος Ἱππόλυτος Κνιδία Μύσται Μυστάκου Θητίον Νεκυία Ὀρέστης Πύλαι Σίλφαι Φακῆ Φυσιόλογος Further Information

Fabric. vol. ii. p. 492; Ulrici, Gesch. d. Hellen. Dichtk. vol. ii. p. 325.)

2. Of Apamea, a distinguished sophist, the head for some time of the school of Plotinus, was a disciple of Iamblichus, after whose death (before A. D. 330), he went to Constantinople, where he enjoyed the favour and personal friendship of Constantine, who afterwards, however, put him to death, from the motive, as was alleged, of giving a proof of the sincerity of his own conversion to Christianity (Sozom. H. E. 1.5; comp. the note of Valesius ; Suid. s. v.). Eunapius, who gives a fuller account of the matter (Vit. Aedes. pp. 36, 37, 41), and Zosimus (2.40) ascribe his death to the machinations of Ablabius; and, according to the former writer, the pretext for his condemnation was the charge that he detained by magical arts a fleet laden with corn, of which Constantinople was in the utmost want. The time of his death must have been between A. D. 330 and 337. (Clinton, Fast. Rom. s. a. 312, 326, 330.) The only works ascribed to him by Suidas are, one On Prudence (Περὶ Προνοίας), and another On Persons who are undeservedly Fortunate or Unfortunate (περὶ τῶν παρὰ τὴν ἀξίαν εὐπραγούντων ἢ δυσπραγούντων). There are, however, several other writings, grammatical, and of miscellaneous information, under the name of Sopater, but the best critics ascribe these to a younger Sopater, of Apamea or Alexandria, whom Suidas distinguishes, and, as they suppose, rightly so, from the philosopher of the time of Constantine. Whether this view is correct can hardly be determined with certainty.

3. The younger sophist, of Apamea, or of Alexandria, is supposed to have lived about two hundred years later than the former. Works Historical Extracts (ἐκλογὴν τῶν ἱστοριῶν)

Suidas tells us that he wrote epitomes of numerous works, and that some ascribed to him the Historical Extracts (ἐκλογὴν τῶν ἱστοριῶν), which, we may therefore infer, others attributed to the elder Sopater. Photius (Bibl. Cod. 161) has preserved an abstract of this ἐκλογὴ, or, as he calls it, ἐκλογαὶ διάφοροι, from which it appears that the work contained a vast variety of facts and figments, collected from a great number of authors. A list of the writers quoted by Sopater is given by Fabricius (Bibl. Graec. vol. x. pp. 720-722; comp. vol. ii. p. 321, vol. iii. p. 51, vol. iv. p. 250, and Vossius, de Hist. Graec. p. 294, ed. Westermann). Rhetorical or grammatical works

The rhetorical and grammatical works under the name of Sopater are the following :-- διαιρέσεις ζητημάτων

A classification and analysis of rhetorical themes. Editions

Printed in the Aldine collection, Venet. 1508, folio. a commentary on the part περὶ στάσεων of the τεχνή ῥητορική of Hermogenes Editions

printed in the Aldine collection, Venet. 1508, folio. Prolegomena to Aristeides Editions

Printed from a MS. in the Bodleian Library in vol. i. of Jebb's edition of Aristeides. Editions

All the remains of his rhetorical works are contained in vols. iv., v., and viii. of Walz's Rhetores Graeci. Further Information

Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vi. pp. 18, 73, 102, 138; Westermann, ad Voss. l.c.. [P.S]

(Σώπατρος). (1) Of Paphos, a writer of parody and burlesque (φλυαρογράφος), who flourished from B.C. 323 to 283.

(2) Of Apamea, a distinguished Sophist, the head for some time of the school of Plotinus. He was a disciple of Iamblichus, after whose death (before A.D. 330) he went to Constantinople. Here he enjoyed the favour and personal friendship of Constantine, who afterwards, however, put him to death (between A.D. 330 and 337) from the motive, as was alleged, of giving a proof of the sincerity of his own conversion to Christianity. There are several grammatical and rhetorical works extant under the name of Sopater, but the best critics ascribe these to a younger Sopater, mentioned below.

(3) The younger Sophist, of Apamea, or of Alexandria, is supposed to have lived about two hundred years later than the former. Besides his extant works already alluded to, Photius has preserved an extract of a work, entitled the Historical Selections (ἐκλογή), which contained a vast variety of facts and figments, collected from a great number of authors. The remains of his rhetorical works are contained in Walz's Rhetores Graeci.