Sopater of Paphos (Ancient Greek:Σώπατρος ὁ Πάφιος)[1] was a 3rd-century BCparodist andplaywright.Atheneus reports on his lifetime in hisDeipnosophistae. According to Atheneus, Sopater lived in the time ofAlexander the Great, and "was still alive in the reign of the second king of Egypt".[2][3] AfterPtolemy II Philadelphus (308-246 BC) succeeded his father on the throne of Egypt in 283/2 BC, and considering that the work of Sopater was likely composed after Ptolemy II's victory against theGauls in 270 BC and makes reference to him, scholars place Sopater in the last thirty years of the 4th and the first half of the 3rd century BC. He is believed to have spent a significant part of his life spent inAlexandria.[4]
A few of Sopater's works are known to us through Atheneus'Deipnosophistae, these are:Bacchus,Eubulotheombrutus,Pylaeus andPhacis are described in the ancient source as dramas. Other sources like the 10th centuryByzantine encyclopediaSuidas count nine works in total: Hippolytus, Physiologus, Silpho, Cnidia, Nekia, Pylaeus, Orestes, Phacis and Bacchus. Sopatros, in addition to the indicative of his Paphos descent, is called a parodist and aphlyax writer in Athenaeus, and a comedian in Suidas.[4][5]