Simmias
(
Σιμμίας).
1.
Of Thebes, first the disciple of the Pythagorean philosopher Philolaüs, and
afterwards the friend and disciple of Socrates, at whose death he was present. Simmias wrote
twenty-three dialogues on philosophical subjects, all of which are lost.
2.
Of Rhodes. A poet and grammarian of the Alexandrian School, who flourished about B.C. 300.
The Greek Anthology contains six epigrams ascribed to Simmias, besides three short poems of
that fantastic species called
griphi or
carmina figurata—that is,
pieces in which the lines are so arranged as to make the whole poem resemble the form of some
object; those of Simmias are entitled, from their forms, the
Wings (
πτέρυγες), the
Egg (
ὠόν), and the
Hatchet (
πέλεκυς).