Sophron
Sophron of Syracuse (fl. 430 BC), Magna Graecia, was a writer of mimes (μῖμος, a kind of prose drama). The author of prose dialogues in the Doric dialect, containing both male and female characters, some serious, others humorous in style, and depicting scenes from the daily life of the Sicilian Greeks.
Sophron
- Born
- 470. · Syracuse.
- Died
- 400.
- Nationality
- Syracuse.
- Occupation
- poet, mimographer and writer.
- Movements
- Old Comedy.
- Languages
- Ancient Greek.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 102406294 · wikidata · Q512691 · wikipedia · Sophron
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
400
Sophron died.
470
Sophron born at Syracuse.
Editions
The fragments of Sophron are collected in: • Ahrens, H. L., De graecae linguae dialectis (1843), ii. (app.), and C. J. Botzon (1867); see also his De Sophrone et Xenarcho mimographis (1856). The most recent edition is: • Hordern, J. H., Sophron's Mimes: Text, Translation, and Commentary, Oxford, 2004..
Documentary record
Sophron was born in Syracuse.
Influence
Although in prose, they were regarded as poems; in any case they were not intended for stage representation. They were written in pithy and popular language, full of proverbs and colloquialisms.
Plato is said to have introduced Sophron's works into Athens and to have made use of them in his dialogues; according to Diogenes Laërtius, they were Plato's constant companions, and he even slept with them under his pillow; the Suda says of the mimes of Sophron, "Plato the philosopher always read them, so as to be sent into an occasional doze." Some idea of their general character may be gathered from the 2nd and 15th idylls of Theocritus, which are said to have been imitated from the Akestriai and Isthmiazousai of his Syracusan predecessor. Their influence is also to be traced in the satires of Persius.
Documentary record
Sophron is documented in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q512691: Sophron
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Sophron”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 102406294, Sophron, Syracusanus.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Sophron, revision 1286723845 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
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authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 102406294, Sophron, Syracusanus.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Sophie von KühnAuthor
- Sophie von La RocheAuthor
- SophoclesAuthor
- Sophonisba BreckinridgeAuthor
- Sophronius of VratsaAuthor
- Sophus ClaussenAuthor
- Sophus MichaëlisAuthor
- Sophus SchandorphAuthor
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