So ̄simene ̄s (350 BCE – 77 CE)
Cited as a foreign authority on medicines from plants, after D and before
T (P 1.ind.20); recommended anise in vinegar for all ailments and as a
remedy for fatigue, especially for travelers (20.192). The name, cited 4th c. BCE to 1st c. CE,
is concentrated in the 4th/3rd cc. BCE (LGPN).
RE 3A.1 (1927) 1166, F.E. Kind.
GLIM
So ̄stratos of Alexandria (ca 70 BCE – 10 CE)
Important Greek physician and surgeon, he was concerned with bandages (G, De Fasc.
18A.826 K.) and gave relevant advice on delivery (S, Gyn. 4.12, 14 = CMG 4, pp. 143,
144 – 145; CUF v. 4, p. 22 and v. 2, p. 11). He was chiefly a brilliant zoologist, perhaps the
greatest after A, and wrote a treatise On Animals or On the Nature of Animals in
two or four books (Ath., Deipn. 7 [303b, 312e]), whose second book was on fishes, often
mentioned in late literature. He also wrote On Creatures which Strike and Ones which Bite (cf.
T), well informed in scientific iology, and another one treating bears, maybe
with a Theophrastean theme or title On Animals which Live in Holes (fr.11). The few preserved
fragments discuss beavers, blackbirds, gadflies, eels, bears, and tuna.
M. Wellmann, “Sostratos,” Hermes 26 (1891) 321–350; RE 3A.1 (1927) 1203–1204 (#13), H. Gossen;
OCD3 1427, W.D. Ross.
Arnaud Zucker
So ̄stratos of Knidos (ca 300 – 250 BCE)
Son of Dexiphane ̄s. Architect prominent at the Ptolemaic court, he built the famous light-
house on Pharos at Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, ca 290 – 280
BCE, although some sources present So ̄stratos as a diplomat and courtier who paid for and
dedicated the lighthouse (S 17.1.6). The lighthouse, ca 100 m tall, was in three
sections, decorated with sculpture. The mechanisms for providing fuel for its flame and any
optical devices to magnify it (noted in late sources) are open to speculation. Cited by numer-
ous Arab chroniclers, it stood until the 15th c. and some remains have been recovered in
underwater excavations. So ̄stratos is credited as the first architect to build a boardwalk
supported by piers, at Knidos (P 36.83).
H. Thiersch, Pharos (1909); T.L. Shear, Jr., Kallias of Sphettos = Hesperia, S.17 (1978) 22–25; F. Goddio
and A. Bernand, Sunken Egypt, Alexandria (2004); KLA 2.414–415, W. Mueller.
Margaret M. Miles
So ̄stratos of Nusa (100 – 50 BCE)
A grammarian, the brother of S’s teacher Aristode ̄mos, whose father was
Menekrate ̄s (14.1.48), and cited by -P and I S for para-
doxographical works. The works may be forgeries, or else one of the few genuine works
cited by pseudo-Plutarch.
RE 3A.1 (1927) 1200–1201 (#7), E. Bux.
PTK
SO ̄SIMENE ̄S