A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

878 SORAN US. SORANUS.
ander's life [HERRIOLAUS]. (Arr. Anab. i. 2, iii. unknown, but woo is mentioned by Suidas as one
11, iv. 13; Curt. viii. 7.) [E. E.] of the " more ancient" physicians (7rpe~96TrepoL).
SO'POLIS, a distinguished painter, who flou- He appears to have been eminent in his profession;
rished at Rome in the middle of the first century and as he lived after the time of Hippocrates, he
B. C., is mentioned with Dionysius by Pliny, who may perhaps be placed in the fourth or third censays, that their works filled the picture galleries. tury B.c. (Suid. s. v.:wpavds.)
(II. r. xxxv. 11. s. 40. ~ 43.) In some MSS. 3. A native of Ephesus, whose father's name
of this passage the name is written Sopylus. From was Menander, and his mother's Phoebe. He
a passage of Cicero (ad Att. iv. 16), which has first practised his profession at Alexandria, and
been first pointed out by R. Rochette (Lettre a M. afterwards at Rome, in the reigns of Trajan and
Schorn, pp. 315, 404, 2d ed.), we learn that Sopo- Hadrian, A.D. 98-138. Suidas (who gives the
lis was at the head of a school of painters. [P. S.] above account of him) adds that he composed seSO'POLIS (07sroXAs) a physician who instructed veral excellent works.
A'tius (the heretic, not the physician) in medi- 4. Another native of Ephesus, who lived later,
cine, in the former half of the fourth century after and who (according to Suidas) wrote r'valKewv
Christ. A high character is given him by Philo- /3~tAla rTeoapa, Biovs'IaTrpCv, Kal Alpo'Lets, Kua
storgius, who says he was inferior to none of his vvrTam'y1aTa, 3LCAfa eKca, and other works.
contemporaries (Hist. Eccles. iii. 15, p. 52); St. Now it is quite possible that Suidas may be
Gregory of Nyssa, on the other hand, without correct in stating that there were two'physicians of
naming Sopolis, says that Aetius became servant the name of Soranus, both of whom were natives
to a quack doctor (dyV'pris), from whom he picked of Ephesus; but at any rate those modern writers
up his knowledge of physic. (Cont. Eunom. i. p. who have attempted to distinguish them by assigning
293.) [W. A. G.] to each his proper writings, have decidedly failed,
SOPYLUS. [SOPOLIS.] as is evident since the publication of the treatise
SORA'NUS, a Sabine divinity of the lower rIepl ruvaLKesov fIaOdv, in 1838. For instance,
world. Mount Soracte, which probably derived Fabricius considers that the elder Soranus (No. 3)
its name from him, was, according to Servius is the physician belonging to the sect of the Me(ad Aen. xi. 785), sacred to the infernal gods, thodici who is frequently quoted by Caelius Aureespecially to Diespiter; and it is related that during lianus, and who wrote a work, " De Coenotetis,"
a sacrifice offered to Soranus, wolves snatched away consisting of at least two books; and he thinks
the entrails of the victims from the altar, and that that the younger Soranus (No. 4) is the author
the shepherds pursuing the wolves came to a cave, who is frequently quoted by AkEtius, to whom
the poisonous vapours of which caused a pestilence belongs the short fragment Iespl M 4TpaS Kal rvtatamong them. An oracle then ordered them to live, Kefou AIZotov, which is still extant. It is, however,
like wolves, on prey, and hence those people are now quite clear, first, that the fragment in question
called Hirpini, from the Sabine word hirpus, a forms part of the published treatise "De Morbis
wolf, which was joined to that of Soranus, so that Mulierum;" 2. that the writer of this work betheir full name was Hirpini Sorani. It was a longed to the sect of the Methodici (see Dietz's
custom observed down to a comparatively late Notes at pp. 4, 21); 3. that this is the work freperiod that the Hirpi or Hirpini (probably some quently quoted by Abtius; and 4. that the writer
ancient Sabine families) at the festival on mount of this work was also the author of a work nepl
Soracte, walked with bare feet upon the glowing Kolvo7-rcoTv, consisting of at least two books. Upon
coals of fir-wood, carrying about the entrails of the the whole, therefore, it seems more probable that
victims (Serv. ad Aen. xi. 784, &c.; Plin. H. N. Dietz (note to Sor. p. 23) and Dr. Ermerins
vii. 2; Sil. Ital. v. 174; Strab. v. p. 226). (Observ. Crit. in Sor. appended to his ed. of
Strabo connects this ceremony with the worship Hippocr. De Vict. Rat. in Morb. Acut. p. 372) are
of Feronia, and this circumstance, as well as the correct in supposing that the two physicians of the
proximity of the sanctuary of the two divinities, name of Soranus, mentioned by Suidas as being
shows, that Soranus and Feronia probably belonged natives of Ephesus, were, in fact, one and the same
to the same religion. Roman poets sometimes individual. The only objection to this hypothesis,
identified Soranus with the Greek Apollo. (Virg. of which the writer is aware, arises from the fact
4en. xi. 786; comp. Miiller, Etrusk. vol. ii. p. 67, that in the treatise "De Mlvorbis Mulierum" the
&c.; Hartung, Die Religion der Rinmer, vol. ii. names of several physicians occur who lived later
p. 191, &c.) [L. S.] than the time of Soranus; and this difficulty would
SORA'NUS (2wpavOs), the name of several of course be insuperable if the text in these passages
physicians, whom it is difficult (if not impossible) were genuine and correct. But the text of the
to distinguish with certainty. The following are whole treatise is at present in a very unsatisfactory
enumerated by Fabricius (Bibl. fGr. vol. xii. p. 684, state, and contains many words, &c., that are uned. vet. See also vol. xiii. p. 426.) doubtedly spurious; so that (until the whole ques1. A native of Cos, who appears to have written tion has been thoroughly examined by some future
an account of Hippocrates, and is said to have editor of Soranus) we are quite justified in beexamined the libraries and official records at Cos, lieving the passages in question to be interpolations.
in search of materials. His date is unknown, but (See Ermerins, 1. c. p. 371, &c.)
he may perhaps have lived in the third or second If, therefore, we suppose that there was only one
century B.C. He is quoted by Soranus, the author physician of the name of Soranus who was born at
of the Life of Hippocrates.' (~ 1.) Ephesus, the date assigned by Suidas to the son of
2. A native of Mallus in Cilicia*, whose date is Menander will agree tolerably well with that which
we gather from other sources; he is quoted by Caelius
* Haller seems to consider this Soranus to be Piract. vol. i. p. 207), but probably without sufficient
the same as one of the following (Bibl. MAedic. reason.