Life Sotades of Maroneia the Elder (Σωτάδης ὁ Μαρωνείτης ὁ Πρεσβύτερος) was a Hellenistic poet of the 3rd century BCE, active at the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus in Alexandria. He is notorious for his obscene and scurrilous verse, composed in a distinctive meter later named "Sotadean" after him. Ancient accounts report that Ptolemy II ordered him sealed in a lead chest and drowned for composing insulting verses, notably one mocking the king's marriage to his sister Arsinoe II [1][2].

Works His works survive only in fragments. He is credited with inventing the Sotadean meter, an ionic verse form used for coarse satire [1][2]. The Byzantine Suda encyclopedia attributes to him poems called Kinaidoi (licentious songs) and Ionia (likely poems in the Ionic dialect or meter) [1].

Significance Sotades is significant for his influence on poetic meter and as a representative of abusive, iambic-style poetry in the Hellenistic period. His eponymous verse became proverbial for vulgar satire, and his legendary execution made him a symbol of the dangers faced by satirists who offended autocratic rulers, continuing the iambic invective tradition within the context of Hellenistic monarchy [1].

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sotades 2. Perseus Digital Library, Suda Encyclopedia, entry Sigma 871: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0054:entry=so/tades