Sonchis of Sais
Egyptian priest named as a teacher of Solon
- City
- Sais, Nile Delta
- Role
- Priest
- Named by
- Plutarch, Life of Solon 26; On Isis and Osiris
- Linked to
- Atlantis story
The priest of Sais whom Plutarch names as one of Solon's teachers in Egypt, sometimes identified with the old priest of Plato's Timaeus.
What is Sonchis of Sais known for?
Sonchis appears in Plutarch's Life of Solon (chapter 26), which says Solon studied in Egypt with Psenophis of Heliopolis and Sonchis of Sais and heard from them the story of Atlantis.
In the Timaeus itself, Plato has an unnamed, very old priest of Sais tell Solon that the Greeks are 'always children' and describe Athens' war with Atlantis 9,000 years earlier. Plutarch, writing centuries later, supplies the name, both in the Life of Solon and in his essay On Isis and Osiris. Sais was the capital of Egypt's 26th Dynasty in Solon's time, and its goddess Neith was linked by the Greeks with Athena.
No Egyptian source mentions Sonchis, and historians treat him as part of the literary tradition around Atlantis rather than a documented person.
Plutarch names him as one of Solon's Egyptian teachers.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeSolon and the priests of Sais
- PersonPlutarch
- PersonPsenophis of Heliopolis
- PlaceSais
Sources
- Plutarch, Life of Solon 26 (Loeb translation, LacusCurtius, University of Chicago)Primary text
- Wikipedia, 'Sonchis of Sais'Reference
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