Sophron facts for kids

Sophron of Syracuse was an ancient Greek writer who lived around 430 BC. He was famous for writing short plays called "mimes." These mimes were like little scenes from everyday life.

Sophron wrote his plays in prose, which means they were like stories, not poems with rhymes. He used the Doric dialect, a type of ancient Greek spoken in his region. His mimes featured both men and women characters. Some were serious, while others were funny. They showed what life was like for people in Sicily, where he lived. Even though they were written as prose, people thought of them as poems. They were not meant to be acted out on a stage. Sophron wrote in a simple, everyday language, full of common sayings and informal words.

Sophron's Influence

The famous philosopher Plato really liked Sophron's works. It is said that Plato brought Sophron's writings to Athens. He even used them when he wrote his own philosophical dialogues. According to an ancient writer named Diogenes Laërtius, Plato always kept Sophron's mimes close by. He even slept with them under his pillow! Another ancient source, the Suda, says that Plato read Sophron's mimes so much that they sometimes made him sleepy.

We can get an idea of what Sophron's mimes were like by looking at the works of another Greek poet, Theocritus. Theocritus's 2nd and 15th idylls are thought to be based on Sophron's plays. Sophron's influence can also be seen in the satires written by the Roman poet Persius.

Are we then to deny that the so-called mimes of Sophron, which are not even in metre, are stories and imitations, or the dialogues of Alexamenos of Teos, which were written before the Socratic dialogues? Plato is said to have been an admirer and imitator of Sophron, whose works were found under his pillow.

—Humphry House

See also

In Spanish: Sofrón para niños