Sophron


Sophron of Syracuse was a writer of mimes.
Sophron was 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. 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.

Influence

is said to have introduced Sophron's works into Athens and to have made use of them in his dialogues; according to the Suda, they were Plato's constant companions, and he even slept with them under his pillow. 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.

Editions

The fragments of Sophron are collected by H. L. Ahrens, De graecae linguae dialectis, ii., and C. J. Botzon ; see also his De Sophrone et Xenarcho mimographis. J. H. Hordern's Sophron's Mimes: Text, Translation, and Commentary, Oxford, 2004, is the most recent edition.