Socus

In Greek mythology, the name Socus (Σῶκος) may refer to:

• Socus, a defender of Troy, son of Hippasus and brother of Charops. The brothers were killed by Odysseus.^[1]

• Socus of Euboea, father of the seven Corybantes (Prymneus, Mimas, Acmon, Damneus, Ocythous, Idaeus, Melisseus) by Combe. He expelled his wife and sons from the island, and was ultimately killed by Cecrops, in whose kingdom the Corybantes sought refuge.^[2] His name is also mentioned by Hesychius of Alexandria in the form Sochus (Σωχός).

• Socus, an epithet of Hermes^[3] of obscure etymology. According to a scholiast on the Homeric line where the epithet appears, there was an adjective σῶκος which meant "strong". The ancient authors linked the epithet to the Greek stem σω- < σαο- "whole, safe".^[4] Despite the attempts of modern scholars to elaborate on this etymological suggestion, no satisfactory explanation has been provided as of 1977.^[5]

References

1. Homer, Iliad, 11. 428 - 456; Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy, 7. 444
2. Nonnus, Dionysiaca, 13. 135 ff
3. Homer, Iliad, 20. 72
4. Realencyclopädie s. 803; Roscher s. 1136
5. Chantraine, Pierre. Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque. Histoire des mots. Tome IV-1 (Ρ - Υ). Paris, Éditions Klincksiek, 1977. - p. 1083

Sources

• Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft Band IIIA, Halbband 5, Silacenis-Sparsus (1927), s. 803 u. Sokos
• Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (ed.): Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie, Band IV (Q - S), Hildesheim, 1965, ss. 1136 - 1137 u. Sokos