Sosibius
2. A distinguished Lacedaemonian grammarian, who flourished in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (about B. C. 251), and was contemporary with Callimachus. (Ath. xi. p. 493f., iv. p. 144. e.) He was one of those writers who employed themselves in solving the difficulties met with in the ancient authors, and who were therefore called Λυτικοί or ἐπιλυτικοί, in opposition to the ἐνστατικοί, who employed their ingenuity in proposing problems for others to solve. (Suid. s.v. Ath. xi. p. 493f.)
Works
The following works of his are quoted: --
1. Περλ̀ Ἀλκμᾶνος
(Ath. iii. p 115, a., xiv. p. 646a., p. 648b.)
2. Περὶ τῶν ἐν Λακεδαλ́μονι θυσιῶν
(Ath. xv. p. 674a., p. 678b.)
3. Ὁμοιότητες
(Ath. xv. p. 690e.)
4. A Chronography
Entitled περὶ χρόνων (Ath. xiv. p. 635f.) or χρονῶν ἀναγραφή (Clem. Alex. Strom. vol. i. p. 327c.)
Work on the ancient Dorian comedy
One of his works, but we are not told which, contained information respecting the ancient Dorian Comedy of the Dicelistae and the Mimes. (Suid. s. vv. Σωσίβιος, Δικηλιστῶν; Ath. xiv. p. 621).
Other quotations
Besides the passages now referred to, there are several other quotations from his writings.
Futher Information
Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. vi. p. 379; Vossius, de Hist. Graec. pp. 136, 137, ed. Westermann; Clinton, F. H. vol. iii. p. 508.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.