Plutarch is one of the most prolific and important writers from antiquity. His Parallel Lives continue to be an invaluable historical source, and the numerous essays in his Moralia, covering everything from marriage to the Delphic Oracle, are crucial evidence for ancient philosophy and cultural history. This volume provides an engaging introduction to all aspects of his work, including his method and purpose in writing the Lives, his attitudes toward daily life and intimate relations, his thoughts on citizenship and government, his relationship to Plato and the second Sophistic, and his conception of foreign or 'other'.
Attention is also paid to his style and rhetoric. Plutarch's works have also been important in subsequent periods, and an introduction to their reception history in Byzantium, Italy, England, Spain, and France is provided. A distinguished team of contributors together helps the reader begin to navigate this most varied and fascinating of writers.
Preface and acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Plutarch and Biography Christophe Pellingr; 2. Romanness and Greekness in Plutarch Manuel Tröster; 3. Plutarch as moral educator Timothy Duff; 4. In the spirit of Plato Jan Opsomer; 5. Plutarch as a Polemicist John Dillon and Alexei Zadorojnyi; 6. Religion and myth in Plutarch Robert Lamberton; 7. Plutarch at the symposium Katerina Oikonomopoulou; 8. Language, style, and Rhetoric Donald Russell; 9. Plutarch and classical Greece Philip Stadter; 10. Great men: leadership in Plutarch's lives Mark Beck; 11. Thinking 'Private Life': Plutarch on gender, sexuality, family Françoise Frazier; 12. Wealth and decadence in Plutarch's lives Christopher Pelling; 13. Plutarch and the Barbarian 'Other' Eran Almagor; 14. Plutarch and Animals Judith Mossman and Alexei Zadorojnyi; 15. Plutarch in Byzantium Noreen Humble; 16. Plutarch in the Italian Renaissance Marianne Pade; 17. Plutarch and the Spanish Renaissance Aurelio Pérez Jiménez; 18. Plutarch and Shakespeare: Reviving the dead Julia Griffin; 19. Plutarch in France: sixteenth to eighteenth centuries Katherine MacDonald; Bibliography.
Frances B. Titchener is Distinguished Professor of History and Classics at Utah State University. Involved with the International Plutarch Society since 1987, she is co-editor of Ploutarchos, the journal of the IPS. She is also a co-editor of Fame and Infamy (2015) and of Plutarch's Cities (2022). Alexei Zadorojnyi is Senior Lecturer in Greek Language and Culture at the University of Liverpool. He has published numerous articles and chapters on Plutarch as well as other Greek and Roman authors of the imperial period.
