Solus (untis), a maritime town of Sicily. See: [Solœis]. Strabo, bk. 14.
Soly̆ma and Soly̆mæ, a town of Lycia. The inhabitants, called Solymi, were anciently called Milyades, and afterwards Termili and Lycians. Sarpedon settled among them. Strabo, bk. 14.—Homer, Iliad, bk. 6.—Pliny, bk. 5, chs. 27 & 29.——An ancient name of Jerusalem. See: [Hierosolyma]. Juvenal, satire 6, li. 543.
Somnus, son of Erebus and Nox, was one of the infernal deities, and presided over sleep. His palace, according to some mythologists, is a dark cave where the sun never penetrates. At the entrance are a number of poppies and somniferous herbs. The god himself is represented as asleep on a bed of feathers with black curtains. The dreams stand by him, and Morpheus, as his principal minister, watches to prevent the noise from awaking him. The Lacedæmonians always placed the image of Somnus near that of death. Hesiod, Theogony.—Homer, Iliad, bk. 14.—Virgil, Æneid, bk. 6, li. 893.—Ovid, Metamorphoses, bk. 11.
Sonchis, an Egyptian priest, in the age of Solon. It was he who told that celebrated philosopher a number of traditions, particularly about the Atlantic isles, which he represented as more extensive than the continent of Africa and Asia united. This island disappeared, it is said, in one day and one night. Plutarch, de Iside et Osiride, &c.
Sontiătes, a people in Gaul.
Sopăter, a philosopher of Apamea, in the age of the emperor Constantine. He was one of the disciples of Iamblicus, and after his death he was at the head of the Platonic philosophers.
Sophax, a son of Hercules and Tinga the widow of Antæus, who founded the kingdom of Tingis, in Mauritania, and from whom were descended Diodorus, and Juba king of Mauritania. Strabo, bk. 3.
Sophēne, a country of Armenia, on the borders of Mesopotamia. Lucan, bk. 2, li. 593.
Sŏphŏcles, a celebrated tragic poet of Athens, educated in the school of Æschylus. He distinguished himself not only as a poet, but also as a statesman. He commanded the Athenian armies, and in several battles he shared the supreme command with Pericles, and exercised the office of archon with credit and honour. The first appearance of Sophocles as a poet reflects great honour on his abilities. The Athenians had taken the island of Scyros, and to celebrate that memorable event, a yearly contest for tragedy was instituted. Sophocles on this occasion obtained the prize over many competitors, in the number of whom was Æschylus, his friend and his master. This success contributed to encourage the poet; he wrote for the stage with applause, and obtained the poetical prize 20 different times. Sophocles was the rival of Euripides for public praise; they divided the applause of the populace, and while the former surpassed in the sublime and majestic, the other was not inferior in the tender and pathetic. The Athenians were pleased with their contention, and as the theatre was at that time an object of importance and magnitude, and deemed an essential and most magnificent part of the religious worship, each had his admirers and adherents; but the two poets, captivated at last by popular applause, gave way to jealousy and rivalship. Of 120 tragedies which Sophocles composed, only seven are extant: Ajax, Electra, Œdipus the tyrant, Antigone, the Trachiniæ, Philoctetes, and Œdipus at Colonos. The ingratitude of the children of Sophocles is well known. They wished to become immediate masters of their father’s possessions, and therefore, tired of his long life, they accused him before the Areopagus of insanity. The only defence the poet made was to read his tragedy of Œdipus at Colonos, which he had lately finished, and then he asked his judges, whether the author of such a performance could be taxed with insanity? The father upon this was acquitted, and the children returned home covered with shame and confusion. Sophocles died in the 91st year of his age, 406 years before Christ, through excess of joy, as some authors report, of having obtained a poetical prize at the Olympic games. Athenæus has accused Sophocles of licentiousness and debauchery, particularly when he commanded the armies of Athens. The best editions of Sophocles are those of Capperonier, 2 vols., 4to, Paris, 1780; of Glasgow, 2 vols., 12mo, 1745; of Geneva, 4to, 1603; and that by Brunck, 4 vols., 8vo, 1786. Cicero, Against Catiline; de Divinatione, bk. 1, ch. 25.—Plutarch, Cimon, &c.—Quintilian, bk. 1, ch. 10; bk. 10, ch. 1.—Valerius Maximus, bk. 8, ch. 7; bk. 9, ch. 12.—Pliny, bk. 7, ch. 53.—Athenæus, bk. 10, &c.
Sophonisba, a daughter of Asdrubal the Carthaginian, celebrated for her beauty. She married Syphax, a prince of Numidia, and when her husband was conquered by the Romans and Masinissa, she fell a captive into the hands of the enemy. Masinissa became enamoured of her, and married her. This behaviour displeased the Romans; and Scipio, who at that time had the command of the armies of the republic in Africa, rebuked the monarch severely, and desired him to part with Sophonisba. This was an arduous task for Masinissa, yet he dreaded the Romans. He entered Sophonisba’s tent with tears in his eyes, and told her that, as he could not deliver her from captivity and the jealousy of the Romans, he recommended her, as the strongest pledge of his love and affection for her person, to die like the daughter of Asdrubal. Sophonisba obeyed, and drank, with unusual composure and serenity, the cup of poison which Masinissa sent to her, about 203 years before Christ. Livy, bk. 30, ch. 12, &c.—Sallust, Jugurthine War.—Justin.