Sotion of Alexandria (Σωτίων ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς) was a historian active in the 2nd–3rd century CE.

Life He remains an obscure figure. No biographical details are recorded in major reference works, and the common name "Sotion" makes definitive identification with other known individuals impossible [1, 2].

Works He is credited with a doxographical history titled On the Succession of the Philosophers (Περὶ τῶν διαδοχῶν τῶν φιλοσόφων), which is now lost. The Suda attributes a 13-book work of this name to him [1]. Significant scholarly confusion exists, however, as a more prominent Sotion of Alexandria from the 2nd century BCE wrote a work with the same title. It is possible the later Sotion produced a revised version or that the attribution reflects a different individual [3].

Significance If correctly attributed, his work would place him within the tradition of ancient philosophical historiography that organized teachings by schools and their successive leaders. Such "succession" literature was used by later biographers like Diogenes Laertius [3]. His impact remains difficult to assess due to the loss of his text and the confusion with his earlier namesake.

Sources 1. Suda Online (The Stoa Consortium): https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/sol-entries/sigma/875 2. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: Search performed for "Sotion of Alexandria"; no entry found. 3. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Plato.stanford.edu): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/doxography-ancient/#DoxoSour 4. Perseus Digital Library, Catalog of Greek Authors: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0010:entry=sotion