The Cambridge Companion to Plutarch

Engaging introduction by leading scholars to the many aspects of Plutarch's numerous and varied works and their subsequent reception.

Frances B. Titchener (Edited by), Alexei V. Zadorojnyi (Edited by)

9780521176569, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 July 2023

502 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 2.7 cm, 0.74 kg

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.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Literary studies: general [DSB]