 Plutarch[plU'
tark] writer of at least 227 books and treatises
of various lengths
Plutarch was born into a
wealthy family in the small town of Chaeronea
sometime around 46. His father was Aristobulus, a
philosopher and biographer. Sometime around 66 he
entered the Academy at Athens, where he studied
mathematics and philosophy under Ammonius. After
completing his studies he spent time travelling
around the Mediterranean. He also spent some time
in Rome, where he became friends with many
influential officials. He also appears to have
obtained Roman citizenship, and the official name
Mestrius Plutarchus.
Plutarch finally resettled in
Chaeronea, where he spent the majority of his
adult life. In his Consolation to his Wife,
Plutarch talks of having a daughter who died in
childhood, as well as four sons, two of whom
survived into adulthood. He also talks of being a
senior priest of Apollo at the Oracle of Delphi,
where he was responsible for interpreting the
auguries of the oracle. He died sometime around
122.
Principal Works
No complete catalog of
Plutarch's works survives, but he is believed to
have been responsible for at least 227 books and
treatises of various lengths. Of these his Morals
and Parallel Lives are the best known.
Morals (Moralia)
consists of some 78 pieces on a variety of
subjects, only a few of which can properly be
designated moral. In the group loosely known as
"Rhetorical Display Pieces" can be
found such titles as On Fortune; On
the Fortune of the Romans; Whether
Alexander the Great was Lucky or Deserving; Whether
Virtue Can be Taught; OWhether Vice
Causes Unhappiness; and Whether Water of
Fire is the Most Useful. Ethical questions
are addressed in On Love; Marriage
Counsel; Hygienic Principles; and On
the Intelligence of Animals. In On
Superstitution he cautions against excesses
because these precipitate intelligent men into
atheism. There are also works dealing with
education, politics, and compariative philosophy.
Parallel Lives
(Bioi paralleloi) was for centuries
the main source of knowledge of the Greco-Roman
world. Fifty of the works within this series
survive, and many others are known to have
perished. There are twenty-two pairs, in which a
Greek and a Roman of comparable character or
career are discussed, with a formal comparison of
the two added. Four of the Lives stand
alone. Each volume includes a long list of
authorities and sources, and it is believed that
Plutarch spent a number of years researching and
writing the Lives.
In the order followed in
current compilations the Lives are:
Theseus-Romulus; Solon-Pulicola;
Themistocles-Camillus; Aristides-Cato the Elder;
Cimon-Luclullus; Pericles-Fabius Maximus;
Nicias-Crassus; Coriolanus-Alcibiades;
Demosthenes-Cicero; Phocion-Cato the Younger;
Dion-Brutus; Aemilus Paulus-Timoleon;
Sertorius-Eumenes; Philopoimen-Flamininus;
Pelopidas-Marcellus; Alexander-Caesar;
Demetrius-Antonius; Pyrrhus-Marius; Aratus;
Artaxerxes; Agis and Cleomenes-Tiberius and Gaius
Gracchus; Lycurgus-Numa; Lysander-Sulla;
Agesilaus-Pompey; Galba; and Otho.
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