Plutarch's Politics
Between City and Empire

Recasts Plutarch's Lives as a work of political philosophy emerging from the imperial encounter of Greece and Rome.

Hugh Liebert (Author)

9781107148789, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 8 September 2016

284 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.59 kg

'The associate professor of political science at the US Military Academy aims to reinstate Plutarch, who invented the literary form of the Lives as the instrument of his political teaching, in the canon of political theory relevant for contemporary discussion … Plutarch believed that showing the human being in political action was essential. The Life does even more, providing 'an intimate portrait, replete with candid anecdotes and memorable sayings', so that readers can see into the character of those held in the highest esteem by their peers.' Rebecca Burgess, Liberty and Law (www.libertylawsite.org)

Plutarch's Lives were once treasured. Today they are studied by classicists, known vaguely, if at all, by the educated public, and are virtually unknown to students of ancient political thought. The central claim of this book is that Plutarch shows how the political form of the city can satisfy an individual's desire for honor, even under the horizon of empire. Plutarch's argument turns on the difference between Sparta and Rome.  Both cities stimulated their citizens' desire for honor, but Sparta remained a city by linking honor to what could be seen first-hand, whereas Rome became an empire by liberating honor from the shackles of the visible. Even under the rule of a distant power, however, allegiances and political actions tied to the visible world of the city remained. By resurrecting statesmen who thrived in autonomous cities, Plutarch hoped to rekindle some sense of the city's enduring appeal.

Part I: 1. Ancients and moderns
2. Ambition and political form
Part II: 3. Lives
4. Lycurgus's Sparta
5. Numa's Rome
6. Parallels
7. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Political ideologies [JPF]