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date: 17 February 2025

Sotades(2)locked

, of Maroneia, poet

Sotades(2)locked

, of Maroneia, poet
  • Richard Hunter

Extract

Sotades (2) of Maroneia, poet of the first half of the 3rd cent. bce. The prōtos heuretēs i.e. inventor (Strabo 14. 1. 41) of *cinaedic poetry and probably the first literary writer of the ‘sotadean’, a stichic ionic verse (––∪∪ ––∪∪––∪∪––) in which –∪–× may replace ––∪∪ and which allows great freedom of resolution and substitution. Sotades was notorious for riddling verses making fun of great men (Ath. 14. 620f–621b, Plut.Mor. 11a), including *Ptolemy (1) II Philadelphus, whose marriage to his sister *Arsinoë II the poet commemorated with his most famous verse, ‘you are pushing the prick into an unholy hole’ (fr. 1). His abuse of Ptolemy is variously said to have led to his death or a long spell in prison. Other poems included a sotadean version of Homer's Iliad (frs. 4a–c) and a Katabasis (Descent) to*Hades. Moralizing verses ascribed to Sotades by *Stobaeus are almost certainly not his.

Subjects

  • Greek Literature

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