The Plutarch Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Full Show Notes

Greek Parallel - Timoleon

Important People

Perseus - A tyrannical Macedonian leader who acts as a foil to Aemilius's virtues. They are like parallel lines running in opposite directions, even down to their family lives.

Tubero - An obscure character worth keeping an eye on. Raised in a frugal, Roman home supporting Roman virtue, he rises to a trusted position in Aemilius’s army and continues to be dependable and virtuous. A stark contrast to the many lackeys who attend Perseus before his end.

Important Places

Oreus (9) -

Elimiae (9) -

Pydna - The Battle in which the Macedonians finally lose permanently to the Romans. This battle earns Aemilius Paullus the epithet (cognomen) Macedonicus.

Key Virtues and Vices

boldness of speech - (παρρησία) (cf. 23) - It can get you killed if you’re an honest advisor, but it’s always a virtue Plutarch promotes.

Cowardice - Perseus is the textbook example of both these two vices. This one causes his downfall, while the other exacerbates it and sets him up for failure by ensuring he has no real friends when the money runs out.

Miserliness - Perseus's other main failing; it catches up with him when he can't even keep his mercenaries loyal.

Humility (ταπείνος) (cf. 27) - Not a common word in Plutarch; Ancient Greek doesn't have a distinction between humility and humiliation, so pay close attention to how this is used, since its the word the Christians will use to describe humility in the New Testament.

Humanity (φιλάνθρωπος) (cf. 28) -

Freedom of spirit (τὴν ἐλευθεριότητα (28)-

Generosity of Soul (Magnanimity, when translated into Latin) (28) -

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Full Show Notes - https://plutarch.life/titus-flamininus/

Greek Parallel - Philopoemen

Important People

Philip V - The second-to-last Macedonian king because the Romans play fair in this generation and allow Philip to remain on the throne even after soundly defeating him in battle twice. Philip also has to give up over-lordship of Greece which allows Titus to declare them free.

Antiochus III - Antiochus swoops in when he sees an opportunity and tries to market himself as a liberator for the Greeks. The way Plutarch paints it, no one buys what Antiochus is selling and the Romans defeat him too, though Titus Flamininus isn't involved in that victory.

Hannibal - The Romans expand into Asia Minor with their influence and power. In so doing, Hannibal, exiled from Carthage

Important Places

Battle of Aous -

Battle of Cynoscephalae -

Key Vices and Virtues

• Ambitious - φιλοτιμότατος δὲ καὶ φιλοδοξότατος - the first implies a love of honor while the second implies a love of glory. This brings with it the question: how does honor differ from glory? Is the latter longer-lasting and the former more present-focused. If I only care about what my peers think, am I obsessed then with honor. That may be one. Another could be that honor has physical aspects to it whereas glory is entirely intangible. I think this because τιμή is also the Greek word for price. Most of us can (and do) judge price by the look or feel of the thing, some of its tangible attributes.
• τήν ὄψιν φιλανθρώπῳ (cf. Section 5) - humane in look - Can one look like a philanthropist? Plutarch thinks so.
• φωνήν τε καὶ διάλεκτον Ἕλληνι - Greek in voice and language - This is a compliment. A Greek calls a Roman Greek!
• τιμῆς ἀληθοῦς ἐραστῇ - lover of true honor - Back to honor. Not only is there honor vs. glory, but not all honor is worthy of pursuit!

Section 17 -

• bitterness (πικρός)
• hastiness (ὀξὺς)
• levity (κοῦφος)

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Full Show Notes

Roman Parallel – Titus Flamininus

Important PeopleEpaminondas – A personal hero of Philopoemen’s; he can imitate him in nearly everything except his calmness (cf. Section 3). Epaminondas sets a high water mark for Theban military and political power which Philopoemen is not able to replicate with Megalopolis.

Nabis – Spartan tyrant

Machanidas – Spartan tyrant who dies in an epic one-v-one against Philopoemen.

Antigonus III Doson of Macedon (263-221 BC) – Second to last Macedonian King, winner of the battle of Sellasia, and the same guy whose death was reported towards the end of the Life of Cleomenes.

Philip V of Macedon (238-179 BC) – The last Roman king, whose defeat we will see in the Life of Aemilius Paulus

Antiochus III of Seleucid Empire (241 – 187 BC) –

Titus Flamininus – This pair of biographies marks the only time Plutarch chose to compare contemporaries. While the Roman certainly outshines the Greek, Plutarch wants to emphasize that it’s only because Titus out-Greeks (the virtues of human excellence, which the Greeks saw themselves originally as the sole source and only practicioners of) the Greeks while also out-Romaning them (i.e. larger, more disciplined, better supplied, better trained armies)

Important PlacesMegalopolis – Philopoemen's hometown, and one that sees itself as the countebalance to Spartan hegemony in the Peloponnesus. Generally, the leaders of the Achaean League come from this city, the most famous of whom is, of course, Philopoemen.

Sparta – Cleomenes is king while Philopoemen is a young man, but soon Sparta will fall to greedy tyrants the last of whom will negotiate peace not with Philopoemen, but with the Romans.

Gythium – Philopoemen takes this key Spartan port through a marine maneuver that earns him much acclaim. This it he same Spartan port through which Cleomenes escaped to Egypt.

Messene – The next-door neighbor, and longtime subjugated polis, of Sparta. Philopoemen will free them, but their revolt towards the end of his life is the beginning of his undoing.

Key Vices and Virtues

Contentiousness (φιλονεικία) – A contentious word in the Greek, since it differs by only one letter from a love of victory (φιλονικία). Nevertheless, Philopoemen has a cantankerous outer shell that many find off-putting. Some come across that way, but we should be encourage by this life to look under the outer shell and see the character inside.

Anger (ὀργῆ) – It seems at time Philopoemen is motivated by anger more than justice. While Plutarch seems to overlook this flaw, it's an interesting one to note as Plutarch thought it has no place in the virtuous life.

Pausanias (Description of Greece) – Background of Philopoemen

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Full Show Notes for Plutarch's Life of Cleomenes
**Roman Parallel - Tiberius Gracchus

Important People**

Aratus - The same Aratus from the last life, but older and more experienced now. Between Aratus, Cleomenes, and Philopoemen, it becomes clear that the Greeks themselves are the architects of their own undoing. None of these three men cooperates with the other and this dissension makes easy target for Antigonus.

Megistonoüs - Cleomenes's father-in-law and right-hand man once he takes the throne.

Antigonus III "Doson"- The king of Macedon who eventually comes down to the Peloponnesus in person to settle the Spartan mischief. His death is reported right after winning his kingdom back from barbaric Illyrian invaders. He was the most powerful person standing in Cleomenes' way, but Cleomenes is unaware of his death until he has already landed in Egypt.

Ptolemy III - The successor of Alexander and ruler of wealthy Alexandria when Cleomenes arrives. He dies too soon to fulfill his promises to Cleomenes.

Ptolemy IV - Ptolemy III's son is not fit to rule, interested more in parties and pleasures. As such, he does little to help Cleomenes and eventually grows suspicious of Cleomenes's lack of interest in partying.

Sphaerus the Stoic (or Sphairus) - This student of the founder of Stoicism, Zeno of Cittium, teaches Cleomenes in his youth and helps him reform the Agōge to what it was. Plutarch has some criticisms for Stoicism in this Life that are worth considering.

Important Places

Argos - An important polis in north-western Peloponnesus, Cleomenes takes, but does not hold the city. While this is more than Pelopidas could do, it nonetheless marks the beginning of the end for him, and his father-in-law dies trying to take the city back.

Corinth - The actual gateway to the Peloponnesus, called by Philip of Macedon "the fetters of Greece." Cleomenes has to allow Antigonus to take this fortified position when he falls back to quell the revolt in Argos.

Sicyon - Aratus's hometown! Just north and east up the road from Corinth, on the opposite end of a bay facing that polis. Sicyon is not a populous or powerful polis, but their hometown hero's talents at forging unity in the Peloponnesus puts them on the map, until Cleomenes's dreams of Spartan hegemony threaten that unity.

Key Virtues

πειθαρχίας (obedience) - This touches on a Platonic concept of knowing how to lead and be led (also popular with Xenophon). (cf. 18.4)

ἐγκράτεια - self-control - A virtue that overlaps well with Lycurgan laws and Stoic ethics.

ἀφέλεια - simplicity - The ultimate Spartan virtue, particularly when compared to other Greek poleis like Athens or Corinth.

φιλότιμος - love of honor - This virtue could better be translated ambition, but so could the next one.

μεγαλόφρων - great-mindedness / ambition - The natures that seek the great things. This is ambition to a T. Not all of us want to be president, but those that do are this type.

εὐλαβὲς - piety - Another virtue Agis had but Cleomenes lacked. For a Spartan, there's a paucity of Cleomenes consulting the gods or being a religious leader in almost any form throughout this life.

Key Vices - Undermining Spartan Culture

ἀκολασία - intemperence (opposite of σωφροσύνη)

βωμολοχία - buffoonery

πανηγυρίσμος - display, ostentation

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Important People

Lycurgus - ancient lawgiver, whose biography Plutarch also wrote, and to whom everyone refers constantly in this life as the original set of laws they are trying to hearken back to.

Leonidas - one of two kings of Sparta (along with Agis, the protagonist of this life) who first secretly and then openly resists and thwarts Agis’s reforms at every turn.

Lysander - Not the Lysander who was a contemporary of Agesilaus, but a new Lysander, elected as ephor and one of the main allies for Agis in his implementation of the new Spartan system.

Important Places

Sparta - This is the story of Sparta's last gasp attempt to become an important political and military influence in the Peloponnesus.

Virtues

Discretion (or piety?) - εὐλάβεια - Some interesting shades of meaning cover this one. The conventional Greek word for piety is εὐσέβεια (eusebeia), but this less common word can work like our English word pride. That is, it can be considered a vice or a virtue depending on the context. No one wants to be prideful, but we certainly allow and often even encourage people to be proud of the good things they've done for their communities.

Gentleness - πρᾶον - A common theme we've seen in lives as disparate as Pericles, Aristides, and Aemilius Paullus. Also a contrast to those who lack it like Coriolanus or Pelopidas. Ultimately, the gentle leaders are the greater ones.

Humane / Kindness - φιλάνθρωπον - Another virtue that shows up often among Plutarch's greatest heroes. This particular virtue seems to be part of Agis's downfall. In what way can our vices be our undoing? Is it like the life of Dion where tyrants feel challenged by virtuous living? Or was it something else?

Key Vices

• greed - πλεονεξία (cf. 10)
• parsimony - μικρολογία
• luxury - ἀπολαύσει
• softness - μαλακία (cf. 10)
• extravagance - πολυτέλεια

Captain Ideas

What is a citizen?

• A person born and raised in a certain place and manner?
• Someone who adopts the language, customs, and laws of the land in which they reside?

When and how should citizens fight for regime change?

When and how should citizens admit defeat and work within an unjust or imperfect system of government?

When in a leadership position, how does one know to instigate a change? Is every virtue to be insisted upon all the time by the laws?

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Pelopidas Show Notes

Marcellus Show Notes

How do these two hasty generals compare? Who had the greater victories? Who had the greater flaws? What lessons are there for us over two centuries later?

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Marcellus - Rome's Sword Against Hannibal
Parallel - Pelopidas

Important People

Archimedes (sections 15-17; 19)

Important Places

Nola - A small settlement near Naples.

Tarentum -The Greek colony that had called Pyrrhus over to help them fight the Romans about eighty years before this Second Punic War. They switch sides several times, but their location on the spur of the calf of Italy makes them strategically important for either side.

Naples - Originally a Greek colony,

Syracuse - An even wealthier Syracuse than we last saw in the Live of Timoleon and Dion, but one which has a tyrant again. The tyrant, however, seems more humane the the ones we read about in the past. For one, he is friends with and funds a great many of Archimedes's most clever and ingenious engineering devices. Hiero is particularly glad of Archimedes's friendship as the Roman besiege Syracuse to bring it over to their side.

Key Vices and Virtues

War-loving (φιλοπόλεμος) - Some might say virtue, but Plutarch likely wants to make the point that this is a vice. Marcellus is talented in many types of war as well, from sieges to guerilla skirmishes to pitched battles. He loves everything about the troop movement, exercise, motivation, and implementation.

Haughty (γαῦρος) - We saw this was a bad thing for Coriolanus, but Marcellus handles it much better. It does cause some strange choices, though, as he will defend himself in person twice against his detractors. Politics is still so very personal in Rome that his personal presence shames his litigious foes both times.

ἀγέρωχος - high minded; arrogant (noble or lordly in Homer, later takes on pejorative tone) - It's hard to see if this is a gloss on haughty or a throwback to these older Homeric heroes. His love of one-on-one combat certainly has a Homeric flavor that Plutarch highlights (along with his parallel, Pelopidas), but it's hard to know if a leader should be high-minded or not, particularly because the dictionaries also provide us with definition like arrogant, which is universally bad. The context is key, and so pay close attention to how your translator uses these words.

σώφρων - Practically wise. The tension between this virtue, which normally helps him so much against the wiliness of Hannibal, also seems to be temporarily paralyzed when he falls into the trap Hannibal sets for him. In what ways are the prideful sometimes prevented from seeing the best course of action?

Philanthropic (φιλάνθρωπος) - Probably better translated as humane, this is Plutarch's highest compliment. Ultimately, anyone who learns this learned it from the Greeks. Plutarch is just fine being ruled by Hellenized Romans, but they must be Hellenized otherwise they'll run to the extremes of someone like Coriolanus.

cf. Section 10 - naturally humane - τῷ φύσει φιλανθρώπῳ

A lover of Greek Education and Thought - (ἐραστής Ἑλληνικῆς παιδείας καὶ λόγων) - a lover of Greek education and wisdom

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Fabius Show Notes

Pericles Show Notes

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Full Show Notes: https://plutarch.life/fabius

Greek Parallel - Pericles

Important People

Terentius Varro - Mastermind of Cannae, survivor of the same battle, much to his shame.

Marcellus - The sword to Fabius’s shield. Marcellus, whose life Plutarch also wrote, and Fabius together kept the Romans in their war against Hannibal without shameful or crippling setbacks.

Scipio (Africanus) - The young and ambitious general, first succesful in Spain against the Carthaginians, makes a plan to take the war to Africa. This plan that Fabius will oppose with every ounce of influence he has.

Minucius - The master of horse (magister equitum) during Fabius's dictatorship. He grows annoyed at Fabian tactics and gets himself elected “co-dictator.” After Hannibal draws him into a trap from which Fabius saves him and all his men, Minucius admits his fault and joins again in complete unity of command under Fabius.

Important Places

Trebia (218 BC) - Shortly after crossing the Alps, Hannibal crushes the Roman army that comes to meet him.

Trasimene (217 BC) - Working his way almost halfway down the peninsula, Hannibal crushes another massive Roman army.

Cannae (216 BC) - Finally working his way past Rome (perhaps not enough soldiers, supplies, or the right materials to besiege Rome), he crushes for the third year in a row an army of tens of thousands of Romans, with the consul in charge that day being one of a handful of survivors.

Tarentum (213 BC) - One of the first strategic cities that the Romans, primarily through Fabius Maximus, manage to take back and hold out of Hannibal's grasp. It also seems to be a blot on Fabius's record, as he does something out of character when taking over the city.

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Full Show Notes for Camillus - Noble Roman Dictator

Greek Parallel - Themistocles

No Extant Parallel Essay - :(

Important People

Brennus - Gallic chieftan, unscrupulous and forceful, but without much character development as Plutarch did for other villains (see, for example, Alexander of Pherae's character development in the Life of Pelopidas or Dionysius II's tyrannical character as developed in the Life of Dion).

The Common (Ro)Man - Whether volunteering to give your wagon to Vestal Virgins or to take a risky message across enemy lines and back again, the common Romans do a great deal in this life. This creates a great parallel with the Life of Publicola, whose life features the brave deeds of so many Romans other than himself.

Important Places

Ardea - Camillus’s chosen spot of exile

Rome - What’s in a city? When it’s all been burned to the ground, should the Romans rebuild or colonize elsewhere?

Allia - Battle v. The Gauls

Sutrium - An ally of Rome which the Tuscans besiege calling for unprecedented tactics on the part of the Romans.

Key Virtues and Vices

φρόνησις - practical judgment - Not quite prudence, but the lower element of it that chooses the means most appropriate to the ends. His parallel, Themistocles, had this in spades, but Camillus is no slouch at planning and tactics, both political and military.

Moderation - μετριότης (cf. 11 for lack of it in grieving)

Boldness of Speech - παρρησία - This one often is on a knife's edge between vice and virtue. This is the same key word that Luke uses in Acts of the Apostles when describing the boldness with which the apostles preached about Jesus. Plutarch, writing after Luke and with no knowledge of the man, already recognizes the long Greek history behind this word.

Hatred - ἀπεχθεία - You will accrue allies, but you will also accrue enemies in doing worthy political work.

Gentleness - ἥμερος (cf. 11) - Here one almost wishes his parallel were Pericles, though he is not as gentle as Pericles, so again Plutarch chose well in that parallel too (see next month for the Life of Fabius!)

Kindliness - χρηστός (cf. 11) - Has at its root usefulness, and was a key virtue in the life of that obscure Greek, Pelopidas.

Avoidance of Conflict - On several occasions Camillus seems to choose to do the easier thing, rather than having the difficult conversation or confrontation necessary to ensure the right action is taken.

Justice - δικαιοσύνη - More important even than victory, Camillus’s conscientious application of the law even to his enemies in war wins him admiration and trust on both sides of a conflict.

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So how do Coriolanus and Alcibiades actually compare? One seems like an angry fireball of revenge, the other a self-serving but talented chameleon. Coriolanus couldn't care less about his reputation, but wants the excellence that lives up to his own standard. Alcibiades can accept anyone's standards of behavior... as long as there is something in it for him. How do these two very different men stand in their similarities and differences? What can we learn for ourselves and apply to our own lives if we ever interact with someone like Alcibiades or Coriolanus.

First we'll hear from Plutarch himself, and then Tom will give his perspective with some helpful ways to grow in virtue, particularly key in this life is the ability to know when to lead and when to follow.

Re-listen to the original lives for a refresher:

• Coriolanus
• Alcibiades

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https://plutarch.life/coriolanus

Greek Parallel - Alcibiades

Important People

Volumnia - Coriolanus’s mother and, because his father died young, the woman on whom Coriolanus will pour all his filial piety.

Tullus Aufidius - The leader of the Volscians against the Romans. When Coriolanus switches sides, it is Tullus who is eclipsed.

The Senate - Yes, the Senate acts as a character in this Life, so much so that they represent those with all the power and control, even though they don’t do all the fighting. Coriolanus represents their interests primarily, even over Rome’s.

The People or Plebs - Also a character seen as a body, with no one to represent them. They fight and die in Rome’s wars but often do not see the political fruits of their sacrifices. As such, they secede from Rome and refuse to fight in wars the Senate votes for. This enrages Coriolanus and is one of the major turning points in his life.

Important Places

Corioli - The town which Marcius takes nearly single-handedly after a risky choice, earning him the agnomen Coriolanus.

Rome - Really just a city-state at this time. As a young Republic, the people are probably more sensitive to attitudes of hubris and condescension in their leaders. Coriolanus will be put on trial for tyranny, though the charges morph as the trial progresses.

The Sacred Mount - The plebes are many generations away from full political involvement in this fledgling Republic. As such, they have to force the patricians to notice them. One tactic available to them is secession, and they flee to the Sacred Mount to show the Roman Senators that they will not just be dictated to about what wars they will and will not fight in. They demand justice and the sacred mount shows how closely woven were military, religious, and political interests of the Roman people.

Key Virtues and Vices

Gravity - ἐμβριθής - We might call this virtue steadiness since it implies the ability to see a task through even as everyone around you changes his mind or runs around like an electrocuted chicken. Coriolanus is too reactionary, and gravity allows a leader to stick with the good plan even in the moments when everyone else thinks its a bad one.

Mildness - πραότης - This virtue, coupled with the previous one, were what Plutarch (and Thucydides for that matter) admired so much about Pericles.

Anger - ὀργή - What seems more to us like an emotion, and Plutarch, when pressed would call a passion (παθή) he often treats as a vice, particularly in this Life. One interesting thing to note, though, is that the words for anger and indignation are used more often in the English translations where the Greek has a word with much greater semantic range: θυμός - listen to the podcast to find out more about this fascinating word.

Ambition - φιλοτιμία - Plutarch examines this from many angles, but Coriolanus’s appetite for glory is unquenchable. It also seems only to be tempered by his love for his mother… almost.

Loveof Strife- In Greek, the difference between the love of victory (φιλονικία) and the love of strife (φιλονεικία) is one letter, an epsilon. That slippery little letter has caused a lot of strife among Plutarch scholars, but I think we can safely say here that Coriolanus had a love of strife that sat deeper in his soul than a love of victory, particularly when he disregards Rome’s victories as he fought for them and chooses to fight for her defeat.

Justice (δικαιοσύνη) - When the Senate and People disagree, Rome is brought to a standstill. When Coriolanus thinks he receives less than he deserves, he storms off to fight for someone who will appreciate him.

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Check out grammaticus.co/learn to see what I'm offering for the Summer and Fall! 

In the Fall, we'll return with Season 5: Vices and Virtues in Republican Rome. The lives we'll cover then will be 

• Coriolanus
• Camillus
• Fabius Maximus
• Marcellus
• Flaminius
• Aemilius Paulus
• Agis + Cleomenes
• Philopoemon
• The Gracchi Bros.

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plutarch.life/pyrrhus

Pyrrhus, tempted to fight in the old Homeric style of one on one, strikes me as a man born in the wrong era. With the rise of the Macedonian phalanx, his tactical brilliance sees some success but his personal appetite for risk and voracious craving for the next adventure over the horizon cause him to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory too many times in his life. 

From Fabricius to Sparta to Argos, Pyrrhus seems to learn prudence, but only learns that even the Spartans can defend their homeland with everything they've got. 

How can we learn from Pyrrhus and not earn victories so costly that we end in defeat?

Also, Pyrrhus's end in Argos...

How to read a metaphor (or an omen!). 

And so much more...

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Roman Parallel - Marius (157-86 BC)

Important People

• Demetrius (337-283) - Neighbor and even, for a time, brother-in-law. Son of Antigonus I and father of Antigonus II, Demetrius rules in Greece, Macedon (for seven years), Asia Minor but was ultimately conquered by Seleucus and imprisoned until he died of his own drinking habit.
• Cassander (355-297) - Son of Antipater, who had served as regent of Macedon during Alexander’s campaigns and later served as regent after the death of Perdiccas, he did not inherit the Macedonian throne from his father but had to fight Polyperchon for it. He conquers Greece as well and, most infamously, ends the charade of the successors serving as satraps to a regent by killing the young Alexander IV and his mother and grandmother, Olympias.
• Ptolemy I Soter (367-282) - The stable successor to Alexander who carves out Egypt (305 BC) for himself and founds a dynasty that rules Egypt from the prosperous port of Alexandria until Julius Caesar’s arrival. Ptolemy also strategic in his dynastic alliances to stave off further wars.
• Cineas - Philosopher and orator, Cineas acts as a foil to Pyrrhus’s reckless moving from hope to hope. In the midpoint of this life, he attempts to help Pyrrhus think through why he should be driven from conquest to conquest and provides reflection on Pyrrhus’s accomplishments. Nevertheless, the philosopher accompanies him on all Pyrrhus’s expeditions.
• Fabricius - Our first direct encounters with Roman virtue. While not given his own biography, Fabricius looms large in contrast to Pyrrhus’s vices. Fabricius is stable, cautious, and dependable where Pyrrhus is reckless, overly optimistic, and flighty.

Important Places

• Epirus - Pyrrhus’s birthplace and kingdom by right, inheritance, and conquest.
• Macedon - Neighboring kingdom to Epirus. Pyrrhus manages to win it and lose it without a fight.
• Rome - The new power in the Western Mediterranean, having risen even more recently than Carthage, now threatens the entire Italian peninsula, including the Greek-speaking colonies in the south.
• Tarentum - The colony that asks Pyrrhus for help, and then quickly comes to regret asking.
• Beneventum - The battle in which the Romans manage, not exactly to beat Pyrrhus, but to convince him that Italy won't be worth the fight.

Key Vices and Virtues

• Excessive Appetite for Conquest (πλεονεξία) - Not a vice in the Aristotelian canon, but one important to historians like Thucydides, who saw it as the root of the Athenian downfall. This Life becomes a meditation on knowign one’s political limits and serving in the capacity one has been placed. The philosopher Cineas provides some of this perspective for us without being too heavy-handed.
• Justice - Once again ignored by most of Alexander’s successors, we do se key aspects of it lived up to by the Romans. It is called the virtue of kings in this life and one philosopher observes that the Roman Senate strikes him as “An Assembly of Kings.” When Justice and Power are joined, Plutarch sees not only a properous state nor even just a stable situation, but a good government promoting virtue in its people. This life sets us up so well to enter into the Roman story, because Plutarch wants to remind even the Romans of their past virtues and encourage them to live up to those old virtues in the height of their power.

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/demetrius

Roman Parallel: Mark Antony (83-30 BC)

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

Key Vices and Virtues

• Luxury or Softness (τρυφή) - At first, Demetrius seems to have control over this vice, but it turns out that it’s a symptom of a larger lack of self-control. Even when he can rein in his appetites for food and sex, he never fully conquers his appetite for conquest. As such, he over-reaches and finds himself captive.
• Justice - As usual for Plutarch, he wants these men to wield their power justly. In general, the Successors of Alexander are corrupted by their over-riding vice and find themselves unable to rule well, though they still treat their fellow Macedonian generals with respect and concern.

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/phocion

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

Roman Parallel - Cato the Younger (95–46 BC)

Phocion was three years old when Socrates died in 399 and then lives through the reigns of Philip, Alexander, and dies under Cassander's takeover of Athens. Though less well-known than his contemporary, Demosthenes, Plutarch wants us to remember him as a political leader who did the best he could with a bad situation.

Key Vices and Virtues

• Bravery (ἀνδρεῖος) - Phocion tempers it with caution, but leads in person up to and past the age of 80!
• Justice (δικαιοσύνη) - Phocion's realism that Athens does not have the power to resist the Macedonians makes him a great, if still ignored, advocate for justice. He wants to preserve the peace and harmony of the city, while receiving as fair a deal as he can for Athens, which will be conquered by an army four times in his life.
• Moderation (σωφροσύνη) - Sometimes also translated as “prudence,” this is not only the virtue that keeps Phocion from accepting any bribes, but also the virtue he tries to give to the Athenian people in their erratic behavior to their Macedonian overlords. His wife also practices this virtue, but his son never learns it from either parent (cf. Plato's Meno which examines whether or not virtue can be taught and looks at famous leaders whose sons did not have the same virtues as their fathers).
• Austerity (αὐστηρόν) - Not one of Aristotle's virtues, but one Plutarch takes pains to highlight. Whether it's walking barefoot, wearing fewer clothes than necessary, or controlling even things like laughter and crying, Phocion struck everyone as toughest first on himself, and then only secondarily hard on others.
• Simplicity (ἀφελείᾳ) - While the ancient Greeks (and Romans) never considered poverty a virtue as the Christians later did, there was a respect for the simplicity of knowing your limits. This knowledge of what is necessary for life makes Phocion (and his wife, see section 19) reliable and incorruptible.

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/alexander

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Key Virtues and Vices

• Bravery (ἀνδρεῖος) - Eumenes, in spite of being the head secretary, is no pencil pusher. Plutarch wants to emphasize this even from the beginning. His education in and prowess in wrestling impress Philip equally as much as his intelligence. Both become an asset to Philip and then Alexander. On top of that, he's able to defeat many of Alexander's most competent generals in battle and gain a reputation among the Macedonians as a bold leader.
• Justice (δικαιοσύνη) - Eumenes, of all the successors, seems most motivated to keep the dynastic succession in order and rule Alexander’s new domains along the lines the Persian leaders had set up before. In other words, he considers it just to step into his role as satrap and leave it at that. As the other kings become greedier and more prideful, Eumenes serves the interests of the regent and, as he sees it, the rightful kings on the throne. He even tells Antigonus that he values his life less than the trust people have placed in him. He is just and willing to put his life on the line for it. How’s that for skin in the game?
• Wisdom (σοφία) - As much wiliness in this life as wisdom, Eumenes has the ability to convince those hostile to him to listen, to ourmaneuver even talented generals, and to inspire confidence through competence. He’s also smart enough to recognize all his enemies and finds ways to profit from his enemies: somethine Plutarch would be proud of, since he wrote a whole essay on the topic in the Moralia.
• Arrogance (ἀλαζονεία) - Categorized by Aristotle as the excess beyond honesty, this vice is rooted in a form or self-deception: seeing yourself as greater than you are. Other definitions include pretension and imposture. Plutarch points out the successors of Alexander suffer under this vice, unaware of their limitations and unwilling to accept that none of them measure up to Alexander.

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/alexander

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

Key Virtues and Vices
Generosity (μεγαλόδωρος) - When his wealth becomes nearly infinite his generosity keeps pace with it. Many examples given of Alexander’s largesse as he builds his empire.

Justice (δική) - When founding and running a empire this big, justice has to be a key concern. Alexander tries to balance respect for the current Persian customs as he finds them and the Hellenization of the Persian peoples. While he doesn’t walk that line as well as he could have, many of his Macedonians treat the Persians far worse and Alexander is often left picking up the pieces.

Friendship (φιλία)- Plutarch, like Aristotle, sees philosophy as the foundation of a life of powerful and lasting friendships. Alexander lives this virtue in many ways but, when he falls short, he fails in impressive ways (cf. Clitus the Black).

Ambition (φιλοτιμία) - This one cuts both ways. Aristotle uses the same word to describe the virtue as he does to describe its excess (what we still today call “overly-ambitious”). Alexander’s ambition means the only things that slow him down or change his course are mutiny or death.

Important PlacesThebes - Not just in Plutarch’s backyard, but the city punished for revolting after Philip’s death. It is burned to the ground and 30,000 of its inhabitant are sold into slavery. Plutarch thinks this must anger the god Dionysius, who was born close to Thebes.

The Battle of Granicus River - Alexander's first battle against the Persian army. Is he reckless or bold? Do we judge him by the consequences?

Battle of Issus - Alexander's second major battle against the Persian host, and the first in which Darius is present. Darius flees and Alexander chose better terrain than he realized.

The Siege of Tyre - This strategic city gives Alexander an excuse to take care of the Persian Navy so that his supply lines are not disrupted as he traverses into the heart of the Persian Empire.

Alexandria - Alexander, under the guidance of Homer, founds a city at the mouth of the Nile that will prosper for the next thousand years. Acting as the Greek and Roman capital of Egypt, Alexandria is still the second-most populous city in Egypt after Cairo today.

The Battle of Gaugamela - The last decisive battle to put Darius on the run. Alexander claims that Greece has been avenged and uses the title King of Persia after this.

The Battle of Hydapses - Moving beyond the frontiers of the Persian Empire, Alexander crosses the Indus River and defeats King Poros, only to return his kingdom to him because of respect for a worthy enemy. Shortly after this his men mutiny and Alexander must turn back home.

Babylon - Before he makes it home, the whole army has a prolonged victory feast in Babylon. Perhaps complications from drinking cause Alexander to fall into a fever from which he does not recover and he dies in Babylon at the age of 33, having conquered the Greeks and the Persian Empire. What if he'd managed to conquer himself? How far does Plutarch think he could have gone?

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Important People

-Bucephalus - Yes, a horse is an important character! Fiery, hard-working, and lasting till the edge of Alexander's empire, Bucephalus (ox-head) provides an analogue for us to see a fiery temperament tamed.
-Philip - Alexander’s ambitious father and the succesful military reformer who almost led an expedition against Persia himself. His untimely assassination makes that task fall to Alexander.
-Olympias - An ambitious and scheming mother, Olympias always pushes Alexander to do more and work harder. While at home, she frequently conflicts with Antipater, the regent Alexander left in charge of Macedonia in his decade-long absence.
-Darius III - The last Achaemenid emperor of Persia flees from Alexander twice but, overall, is treated well by his enemy. He didn’t choose his successor, but ultimatley respects the man who sits on the throne of Cyrus after his death.
-Poros - One of the last king-generals that Alexander defeats before turning around to head back home. Poros lives on the far side of the Indus River and earns Alexander’s respect in a hard-fought battle. Alexander keeps him in his current position and adds lands to his after defeating him.
-Aristotle - One of the greatest philosophers who ever lived worked as the personal tutor to Alexander the Great for at least two years. The two men continue to correspond later in life but some versions of the story have their relationship cool significantly after Alexander executes his grand-nephew, Callisthenes (cf. sections 53-55)
-Philotas - A contemporary of Alexander rising in the ranks under his father, Parmenio. Both experienced leaders who served under Philip and Alexander, Philotas’s pride finds him implicated in a conspiracy and Alexander kills him and his father.
-Clitus (Cleitus) - A member of Alexander’s companion cavalry who saves his life at The Battle of Granicus River. When he later tries to publicly correct Alexander for adopting too many Persian customs, the fight leads to his tragic death, which Alexander struggles to recover from.
-Callisthenes - Grand-nephew of Aristotle accompanying Alexander on the Persian Expedition. He acts as a proxy for Alexander's relationship with the ethical and political lessons Alexander had learned from Aristotle. When he dies (some reports say by Alexander's order, others do not), it seems Alexander lost his last link with his childhood education.

Important Places

-Thebes - Not just in Plutarch’s backyard, but the city punished for revolting after Philip’s death. It is burned to the ground and 30,000 of its inhabitant are sold into slavery. Plutarch thinks this must anger the god Dionysius, who was born close to Thebes.
-The Battle of Granicus River
-Battle of Issus
-The Siege of Tyre
-Alexandria
-The Battle of Gaugamela
-The Battle of Hydapses

Key Virtues and Vices

-Generosity
-Justice
-Friendship
-Ambition (φιλοτιμία)

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/timoleon

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

Important People

Timophanes - Timoleon’s brother and the first tyrant we meet in this story. His name, rather fittingly, means "seems honorable."

Dionysius II - The tyrant whom Dion overthrew, but did not execute. He returns to power after Dion’s death only to be replaced by Hicetas.

Hicetas - The tyrant who replaces Dionysius II, who had allied with the Carthaginians to gain power. Starting out allied with the Corinthians, he becomes Timoleon’s main enemy in the fight to free Syracuse.

Mago - Carthaginian general allied with Hicetas and leading a formidable navy. He’s the first Carthaginian general to “capture” Syracuse, though it’s Hicetas who hands the city over.

Plato - Though dead by the time Timoleon comes to power, he haunts this dialogue both in its analysis of tyranny and its understanding of justice.

Key Virtues and Vices

Justice (δίκη - dikē) - Plutarch argues (30.9) that Justice preserved Timoleon’s good fortune. With this in mind, it’s helpful to remember that Dion didn’t have the same good fortune, though he seems to have deserved it. Perhaps he stepped off the road of Justice and Plutarch allows us to decide where and when. Timoleon also puts justice and honor over convenience (5.1), his brother acts without justice (4.5) when he becomes tyrant, and Timoleon not only acts justly (5.1; 10.7; 29.6), but physically restores the courts of justice (22.3) to the democracy of Syracuse that before had to rely on the whims of the tyrant.

Gentleness (πραότης - praotēs) - Though not mentioned often, it's important for us to remember that this is a virtue listed explicitly in Aristotle's Ethics and one that Plutarch takes great interest in for his characters. Timoleon is introduced to us as gentle (3.4), but not with tyrants and base men. We're also told at the end that he dealt gently and justly with friends (37.5), but boldly and powerfully against barbarians (i.e. Carthaginians in this case). See Plutarch's "On the Moderation of Anger" or Aristotle's Ethics Book 4, Ch. 5 (1125b35) for a more thorough discussion of this virtue and its most obvious excess: anger.

Wisdom (φρονήσις - phronēsis) - Especially on the heels of Dion’s life, Timoleon just strikes us as lucky. Yet, Plutarch primes us in the preface (0.8) to read with an eye for his wise choices and not to judge every decision by its (usually positive) outcome. Plato's wisdom even helps men like Dionysius (15.4)

External Links

• Ambleside Online's Study Guide for Timoleon
• Herman Melville's Poem Timoleon, of which I read the eighth and final stanza in the podcast
• English Translation of Plutarch's Life of Timoleon
• Greek and English of Plutarch's Life of Timoleon (Perseus)
• Art of Manliness Podcast about Plato Trying to Convince Glaucon not to Grow into a Tyrant in the Republic

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Full show notes available at https://plutarch.life/dion

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing. Use coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% and free shipping in the US and Canada.

Important People

Dionysius I (the elder) - Tyrant of Syracuse taking power shortly after the Peloponnesian War and reigning until 367 BC. For some authors, he's the textbook tyrant in the way he held on to power, the fear that prevented him from trusting almost anyone (except his nephew Dion), and his cruelty. Though Plutarch doesn't mention it, this is the tyrant who shows up in stories like Damon and Pythias or The Sword of Damocles. Dionysius is called D-Prime in this podcast so that we don't confused him with his son or nephew.

Dionysius II (the younger) - Less accomplished and intelligent than his father, Dionysius does manage to rule Syracuse not once, but twice. We'll see his comeback in Timoleon's story but in this biography we'll see him attempt to go from neglected son of a tyrant to philosopher-king. It doesn't work out well. He'll be called D-2 in the podcast to distinguish him from his father and uncle.

Dion - The main character of our tale and one of Plato's best and brightest students. When he fails to convert either the elder or younger tyrant to philosophy, he finds himself exiled, stripped of most of his wealth, and finally discovers his wife has been ordered by the tyrant to marry another man. This means war and Dion takes it to Syracuse. Can he become the next philosopher-king? Will he instead train up a virtuous democracy to overthrow fifty years of tyranny? Tune in to find out!

Plato - Yep. Plato was a real person who had a real life outside of his dialogues (in which he never makes himself a character). You'll want to check out Plato's Seventh Letter for another perspective on the events in this Life. If you haven't read this life, though, Plato's Seventh Letter will be a great deal more obscure.

Philistus - An accomplished military mind banished by D-Prime but recalled by D-2, Philistus had taken up his pen in exile and written as a historian. As a political enemy and counterweight to Plato's influence on D-2, Plutarch has a lot of reason to hate this man.

Heracleides - The perfidious but fun-loving rival as Dion tries to tame the tyrannical democracy. Heracleides would rather feed the beast and the tensions certainly mount as Dion fights not one tyrant, but two.

Callippus - This perfidious Athenian doesn't seem important until the end... and then he's fatally important.

Important Places

Corinth - Mother city (metropolis, μητρόπολις) of Syracuse and prosperous city on the Peloponnesus.

Syracuse - 5 major neighborhoods

• Ortygia - The original island settled by the Corinthians who founded Syracuse. It still contained
• Achradina - The heights of the mainland settlement overlooking the ocean and the Neapolis region, famous for the stone quarries in which the Athenians died during the Peloponnesian Wars and after which Dionysius would use for political prisoners.
• Neapolis - the most recent addition to the city, North and West of Achradina and Ortygia, but enclosed by the fortifications D-Prime built
• Tyche - district of Neapolis
• Epipolae - high plateau in the Neapolis, included in the walls D-Prime built

Key Virtues + Vices

Courage (ἀνδρεία - manliness, courage) - Dionysius I and Plato have a fight about what virtue consists in. Plato concedes that andreia is important but then proves publicly that tyrants are the least manly men.

Aloofness - Dion struggles to win friends and influence people.

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Human sacrifice, debauched tyrants, and The Sacred Band of Thebes are all woven together in Plutarch's Life of Pelopidas, friend of Epaminondas and great Theban general.

Full show notes: https://plutarch.life/pelopidas

Important People

Epaminondas - Best friend of Pelopidas and philosopher-soldier-statesman of Thebes, Epaminondas is best known for his work on the battlefield in defeating the Spartans not just once, but nearly every time he meets them in pitched battle.

Charon - The major leader of the democratic restoration inside of Thebes. His house provides the rendezvous point and he leads one of the two groups that assassinate the four tyrants put in place by Sparta.

Philip of Macedon - The future king of Macedon who will solidify the generational instability Macedon has experienced for so long. In this life, he makes a brief appearance as one of thirty hostages who spends time in Thebes with a friend of Epaminondas, Pammenes. Philip brings all his first-hand experience of Theban military success back with him to Macedon.

Alexander of Pherae - Tyrant over a polis in Thessaly begins spreading his power and conquering neighboring cities, who call on Thebes for protection against the tyrant. This man famously leaves a tragedy so that his subjects, who have never seen him cry, won't see how moved he is by actors on a stage.

Important Places

Tegyra - 375 BC - Pelopidas's first real defeat of Spartan troops, it is this battle's success that encourages him to make the Sacred Band their own fighting unit, rather then spreading them throughout the phalanx.

Leuctra - 371 BC - The first battle that humiliates the Spartans, showing the entire Greek world that Thebes is the dominant power under who two talented generals, Pelopidas and Epaminondas.

Mantineia - 362 BC - Another succesful battle which Epaminondas fights without Pelopidas, who had died a couple years earlier. Because Epaminondas dies of wounds from this battle, the Theban hegemony over Greece dies with him and the poleis fight with each other with no clear leader until Macedon marches down from the North (338 BC).

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Full Show Notes: https://plutarch.life/agesilaus

Important People

Agis II - The Spartan king and older brother of Agesilaus who led Sparta during most of the latter half of the Peloponnesian War. After his death around 398 BC, the Spartans must decide whether his son, whose father could be Alcibiades, has a legitimate claim to the throne or whether they should grant the kingship to Agesilaus.

Lysander - Spartan naval commander who conquered Athens and annexed the old Athenian Empire, enriching his friends along the way. His influence in Sparta is powerful enough to reinterpret an oracle and convince the Spartan people to accept Agesilaus as their king.

Xenophon - Personal friend of Agesilaus and Socrates, Xenophon made Agesilaus the protagonist of his Hellenika and then went so far as to write another encomiastic biography of Agesilaus. Plutarch writes this life and the Life of Pelopidas with these works of Xenophon in mind and attempts in part to provide for us a perspective that balances out the pro-Spartan biases of Xenophon with Plutarch's pro-Boeotian leanings.

Pharnabazus - Are you a good satrap, or a bad satrap? Pharnabazus is the satrap Agesilaus would love to have as a friend, but will also respect as an enemy; he's a man of his word who honors his commitments and deals fairly with both enemy and friend.

Tissaphernes - A perfidious satrap mistrusted by every Greek who interacts with him, particularly Alcibiades. When he meets his end (as detailed in this life), Plutarch can't find a reason to be sad.

Antalcidas - The ephor (re-elected many times?) who negotiates in Persia for the King's Peace (387 BC sometimes also called the Peace of Antalcidas)

Sphodrias - The Spartan opportunist who attempts to take the Athenian port at the Peiraeus by surprise at night. He fails and is recalled to Sparta for trial, in which he is acquitted because of the influence of his friends and Agesilaus's son.

Cleonymus - Sphodrias's son

Epaminondas - The Theban general who invades Laconia twice, victorious in the battles of Leuctra (371 BC) and Mantineia (362 BC), his wounds at the latter lead to his early death and the unraveling of Theban hegemony in the Peloponnese.

Archidamus III - Agesilaus's son

Chabrias - The Athenian naval mercenary who serves first under Tachys and then under Nectabanis in Egypt.

Nectabanis or Nectanebo II - The Egyptian leader who revolts from Tachys and convinces Agesilaus to switch sides and join him. Agesilaus's tactical perspective allows Nectabanis to secure his claim to the throne. Nectabanis sends Agesilaus back to Sparta with 230 silver talents.

Agamemnon and Menelaus - The two brothers who led the Bronze Age attack against Troy now immortalized in Homer's Iliad and whose homeward journeys are recounted in Homer's Odyssey. Because Agesilaus begins his reign by attacking Persia, Plutarch draws many comparisons with Agamemnon in this life (5.4; 6.4.; 6.5; 9.4). Since Agesilaus dies near where Menelaus was shipwrecked on his way home (cf. Odyssey Book 4), Agesilaus can be compared with both leaders of this legendary expedition.

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This wily Spartan commander defeated Athens, and his authority even eclipses that of the Spartan kings. Did Lysander corrupt the Spartans with luxury?

Important People

Spartans

• Agesilaus
• Callicratidas
• Gylippus

Persians

• Cyrus
• Pharnabazus

Athenians

• Alcibiades

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Alcibiades fought and strategized for Athens, Sparta, Persia, Athens (again), and Thrace, proving that he fought the entire time only for himself. Was it vanity or pride? Enjoy the first truly negative portrayal Plutarch tries to give, though Plutarch in all his humanity can still defend Alcibiades from his most malicious detractors.

Parallel: Coriolanus

Important People

Spartans:

• Agis II - Spartan King at the time Alcibiades defects to the Spartans. Alcibiades advises Agis to occupy Deceleia, preventing the Athenians from accessing their farms for the remainder of the war.
  • Timaea - Spartan Queen
  • Leotychides - son of Timaea and Alcibiades, disinherited from the throne.
• Lysander - Wily Spartan naval commander who finally manages to defeat the Athenians decisively at sea. He then besieges Athens and sets up a government of thirty tyrannical oligarchs backed up by a Spartan bodyguard. Alcibiades wisely never engages directly with Lysander, though one of his lietuenant does in Alcibiades's absence.

Persians:

• Pharnabazus - One of two powerful Persian satraps in Western Asia Minor with which Alcibiades fights once while trying to keep access to the Black Sea open for Athens. The second time they meet, Alcibiades has abandoned Athens for the last time and seeks to become what Themistocles was, a resident and advisor of the Persian Empire.
• Tissaphernes - A scheming satrap with a great deal in common with Alcibiades. He does and says what he needs to to get his own way. We'll see him again in the Life of Agesilaus.
• Cyrus - Younger son of the Persian King Darius II, Cyrus comes out to Asia Minor to deal with squabbling satraps and to crush Athens for good. He allies himself with Lysander and funds the navy that ultimately destroys Athens.

Athenians:

• Nicias - Alcibiades's main political rival in Athens, famous for his superstition and his vacillation, Alcibiades's confidence and charisma attract a much larger following.
• Antiochus - A vice-commander left in charge while Alcibiades away. He ignore Alc's direct command. notto engage with Lysander and in the ensuing battle loses and dies.

Important Places

Deceleia (23.2) - A mountain citadel of Attica, about 14 miles from Athens towards Boeotia, commanding the Athenian plain and the shortest routes to Euboea and Boeotia, occupied by the Spartans in 413 B.C. at Alcibiades's advice!

Samos (25) - Island in the east-central Aegean originally conquered by Pericles but serving as a strategic base for the Athenian navy during the Peloponnesian Wars. When an oligarchic revolution occurs in Athens, Samos becomes the base-in-exile of the democratic faction, which Alcibiades leads triumphantly home.

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Nicias helps us understand why losers are still worth studying. Like Cassandra, he prophesied for the Athenian people that they could not defeat Syracuse and then when selected as a leader for the expedition, he comes quite close to overturning his own prophecy.

See the full show notes here.

Parallel: Crassus

Important People

• Cleon - The first demagogue to exert influence after Pericles's death, he prosecuted the war against Sparta fairly succesfully, though at much greater loss of life than Pericles had, only to die about 10 years after the war had begun in a battle to regain a former Athenian conquest: Amphipolis.
• Alcibiades - Brazen and unpredictable, this student of Socrates will get his fair treatment in the life right after this one. He makes an appearance here as a pro-war demagogue, talented general, and traitor to the Athenians.
• Lamachus - One of the original three generals sent to Syracuse. He dies in a duel he initiated against a Syracusan commander.
• Demosthenes - Not the orator of a couple generations later. A talented general during the Peloponnesian War that is sent to replace Alcibiades and Lamachus and bring fresh perspective and troops.
• Gylippus - The Spartan general hired by the Syracusans to lead their troops and defeat Athens. With the help of the Corinthian naval commander Gongylus, he succeeds.

Important Places

Delos - An island in the middle of the Aegean Sea, sacred to Apollo, on which Nicias funds an elaborate choral festival. It used to be the site of the taxes collected for the Delian League, but under Pericles this money had been moved to Athens. Many historians take this move to signal the death of the League and the beginning of the Athenian Empire.

Syracuse - Largest and wealthiest polis on the island of Sicily, Syracuse had made enough enemies who sought the help of Athens in freeing them from Syracuse's oversight.

Egesta (Segesta) and Leontini - The smaller Sicilian poleis that ask Athens for help against Syracuse.

Plemmyrium (see map below) - The strategic promontory which Nicias controls for much of the battle against Syracuse. Control of this promontory allows him access to his supply lines back in Athens by means of the sea. When he loses access to this, his situation grows dire rather quickly as retreat is almost entirely cut off.

Epipolae (see map below) - A triangular plateau rising above the city of Syracuse allowing a view inside the city. Since it is surrounded on all sides by cliffs, it's also an easily defensible position. While Nicias captures this strategically important landmass, he also uses its position to oversee the siege of Syracuse as he orders his soldier to build a wall around the entire polis, about the same size, according to Plutarch, as the wall around Athens.

Thapsus - Nicias's chosen landing point, about 5 miles north of Syracuse (not on the map below). Fun fact: it happens to be the archaeological site in which archaeologists have found the oldest signs of an inhabited town on the island of Sicily.

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Check out the full show notes here.

Pericles brought Athens to its peak, but ended his own life in a plague at the beginning of a long war with Sparta. 

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Obscure and under-rated, Cimon gives us a personal look at the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, also called the Pentecontaetia.

Important People

• Aristides - The Athenian politician and general famous for his integrity. Main political rival of the cunning Themistocles.
• Themistocles - Mastermind strategist behind the tactics of Salamis and the abandonment of Athens
• Pericles - Athenian politician who will lead Athens into the Peloponnesian War and then die of the plague only a few years later.

Important Places

• River Strymon - Thrace (7.1)
• Scyros (8.3) (Dolopians? Thessalians?)
• Pamphylia (12.2) Chelidonian Islands; Cnidus and Triopium
• Phaselis (12.3) Chians (Chios)
• Ithome (17.2)
• Tanagra (17.3)
• Citium (18.1, 5)

Check out the full show notes here. 

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Themistocles saved Athens in its darkest hour, yet he dies in the Persian empire, the inveterate enemy of Athens. Is Themistocles a patriot or a traitor?

Important People

• Aristides - Themistocles's main political rival and a man he has to recall from exile to help him fight Salamis. Plutarch considers Aristides to be one of the noblest Athenians who ever lived, and so their lives give us two different perspectives on almost the same time period.
• Eurybiades - The Spartan general in charge of the combined Greek forces at Artemisium and Salamis.

Important Places

• Marathon
• Artemisium
• Thermopylae
• Salamis

Show Notes and Outline of the Life

Helpful External Links

Battle of Salamis Podcast by Barry Strauss (Classics Professor at Cornell University)

Themistocles in Paintings

Plutarch's Life of Themistocles - Bernadotte Perrin translation

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We're wrapping season 2 with a bonus episode looking back at Plutarch's Parallels. We discuss the six biographies of the men who laids the foundations for Greek and Roman greatness. We'll also answer a couple questions that come up, like "Why are the comparison essays so much shorter than the biographies?" and "Why compare the Greek and Roman life at all?" 

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Valerius Publius, aka Publicola, topples the tyrant Tarquin with Brutus and founds the Republic on better justice than the Roman kings had exercised. Like his parallel Solon, his obsession with justice makes him seek the happiness of his own people all the way to his death. Remembering Solon's examples of happiness, does Publicola die a happy man?

Parallel - Solon

Important People

• Tarquinius Superbus - The seventh, and last, king of Rome. Thrown out because of his refusal to punish his nephew who had raped a Roman noblewoman named Lucretia. This is important to the backstory and Plutarch only briefly summarizes it.
• Lucius Junius Brutus - The citizen who stood up to Tarquinius and drove him into exile. Also elected first consul.
• Mucius Scaevola - Roman soldier famous for breaking into the enemy camp, killing the wrong man, and then sticking his hand in fire to prove Roman toughness.
• Lars Porsena - described by Plutarch as "the most powerful king in Italy" he attacks Rome but later becomes a strong ally. Read on to find out how.
• Cloelia and Valeria - Two Roman maidens given to the enemy in a hostage exchange.
• Horatius Cocles - A one-eyed Roman veteran who single-handedly defends the last bridge into the city of Rome while his two friends destroy the bridge behind him. While taking several more wounds, he leaps into the river in full armor and swims across to safety and eternal glory.
• Appius Claudius - A Sabine who breaks off from the Sabines out of respect for the Romans and, along with 5000 other families, is inducted into the citizen rolls.

Important Places

• Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline
• Clusium - Lars Porsena's town, far north up a tributary of the Tiber (called the Clanis)
• Anio River - The land given to the defecting Sabines are along this tributary of the Tiber
• Fidenae - Another rival polis

C. 1 - Lineage and Establishment of the Republic

C. 2 - Tarquin trying to infiltrate

C. 3 - The Plot against Brutus

C. 4 - Vindicius discovers the plots

C. 5 - Publicola brings the plot to public attention

C. 6 - Brutus brings justice to conspirators

C. 7 - Collatinus falls; Valerius (Publicola) rises

C. 8 - Ridding the Remains of the Tarquins from Rome

C. 9 - The Romans Win By One

C. 10 - Publicola Earns his Nickname

C. 11 - Consular Elections and Reform Laws

C. 12 - Tyranny and the Treasury

C. 13 - 15 - Jupiter Capitoline: The Chariot on Top

C. 16 - Porsena v. Publicola

C. 17 - Porsena v. Mucius Scaevola

C. 18 - Porsena: From Adversary to Ally

C. 19 - Hostages Escape, sent back, ambushed!

C. 20 - Triumphant Brother, with Publicola's help

C. 21 - Fourth Consulship; Sabine Enemies (Appius Claudius)

C. 22 - Sabines outwitted in a three-front counter-attack

C. 23 - Dies in Triumph

Helpful External Links

• Publicola's Stories in Art
• Free Online English Translation
• Anne White's Study Guide on Ambleside Online
• Horatius at the Bridge by Thomas Babbington Macaulay - An almost 600-line poem immortalizing Horatius's bravery in English verse! (a favorite poem of

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It is the happy fate of all good and just men to be praised more after they are dead than when they lived

Plutarch, Life of Numa 22

Parallel - Lycurgus

Important People

• Pythagoras - the Greek philosopher and mystic mathematician who lived on the southern Italian peninsula and started a school of philosophy obsessed with simple living, observation of the created universe, piety to the gods, and justice to all men.
• Egeria - the second (and supernatural) wife of Numa, a nymph who taught him much about the simple life and seeking justice
• Romulus – First king of the Romans, rules before Numa
• Tullus Hostilius – Third king of the Romans, warlike, he lives up to his name (Hostilius = hostile)

Important Places

• Rome
  • Capitoline Hill
  • Temple of Vesta - hearth of Rome; secret-keepers
  • Temple of Janus - doors closed in times of peace

Outline

1. Records unclear, hard to trace Numa’s genealogy
2. Romulus taken away
3. People grow tired of Senators ruling seriatim, want a king
4. Numa moves to the country
5. @ 40 years old, ambassadors come to offer him kingship
6. His father convinces him
7. Numa accepts
8. Religion as a tool to tame the spirit (Pythagorean parallels)
9. Pontifices
10. More on the Vestal Virgins
11. Temple of Vesta
12. Funerals and Burial
13. Salii - Plague and Falling Shields
14. Rest and Quiet as Essential for Worship
15. Romans grow superstitious under Numa
16. Fides and Terminus - Rome's Trust and Limits
17. Dividing the people by trade/craft
18. The Calendar Revised
19. More months!
    • January – Janus (two-faces, brought man from beast to social animal) - transition
    • February – februa (and Lupercalia) – rituals of purification (see Life of Romulus)
    • March - Mars
    • April – from Aphrodite (or aperīre – to open)
    • May – Maïa, mother of Mercury
    • June – Juno
      1. Maiores from May and juniors from June?
    • July – Quintilis – Fifth (re-named under Augustus's reign after Julius Caesar)
    • August – Sextilis – Sixth (re-named after Augustus's death after Augustus)
    • September – Seventh
    • October – Eighth
    • November – Ninth
    • December – Tenth
20. Janus’s temple - Proof that Numa is the philosopher-king
21. Numa’s wives and children
    • Numa dies of old age
22. Numa’s funeral
    • Allies and friends pour into the city
    • The whole city mourns
      1. Senators carry the litter
      2. Priests following in procession
      3. All the people, wailing and mourning
    • The kings after Numa (none of whom get their own biography)
      • Last one dies in exile
      • Three of the other four were assassinated
      • Tullus Hostilius, who reigned right after Numa, was his opposite, loving war and “mocking most of the fine things Numa had done”
        • Struck down by a bolt of lightning (cf. Lycurgus’s tomb hit by lightning)

Helpful External Links

Numa in Paint

English Translation of Numa Online

Pythagoras Podcast in the History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

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• The Agōgē (ἀγωγή) [16-19]
• Those Laconic Spartans [19-21]
• Military Maneuvers [22-24]
• Education never stops [24-25
  • Blessing of scholē
  • Freedom and restraint

Political Setup

• How someone elected to Gerousia [26]
  • Over 60
  • Group of candidates selected
  • Assembly called, and votes decided by length of shout and volume of shout
• Burying the dead [27]
• NO injustice or inequality in these laws [28]
  • Those who criticize (cough cough: ARISTOTLE + PLATO) for lack of Justice
  • Krypteia! And treatment of Helots
• Lycurgus leaves: Spartans are living the laws, established in their hearts and minds [29]
  • Makes Spartans promise never to deviate
  • Goes to Delphi, sacrifices to Apollo, starves himself to death
  • Leaves the Spartans to 500 years of supremacy and prosperity

The End of Perfection: Why Did Sparta fail?

• Until LYSANDER [30]
  • Money flowed in and corrupted the morals
  • Before then, Sparta relied on for generals
    • By other Greeks
    • By Sicilians
    • By Egyptians
    • By satraps and kings in Asia
• Lycurgus created a state not suited to rule others [31]
  • A state “in love with wisdom”
  • “free, self-reliant, self-regulated” citizens
  • Many philosophers agreed with him, but he was the only one who executed on his great ideas, leaving behind a polis rather than just writings.

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Lycurgus was once asked why Sparta had no defensive wall around its perimeter. He responded, "A city is well-fortified with a wall of men instead of brick."

Parallel - Numa

Important Places

• Sparta
• Crete
• Asia Minor
• Egypt

Important People

• Homer
• Alcander
• Lysander

Outline

• Uncertain origins: second son of King of Sparta
  • Expected to become king when father and brother dead
  • Chemical Abortion or Infanticide?
  • Charilaus born - joy of the people
  • 8-month reign as regent incites envy

Lycurgus Learns through Travel

• Travels
  • Crete
    • Poetry makes good laws palatable
    • Private hostilities calmed
  • Asia Minor
    • Crete was healthy “simple and severe”
    • Asia diseased “extravagant and permissive”
    • Lycurgus discovers the poems of Homer!
      • makes Homer famous all over mainland Greece
      • Homer's poetry harmonizes well with the Spartan ideals of military courage as the highest virtue
• Return Home
  • Lycurgus resolves to rewrite the entire Spartan system of government
    • Not a written constitution; this will become particularly clear later on
  • Apollo gives his blessing calling Lycurgus “more god than man”
    • Apollo also prophesies that his reforms will be “by far the strongest and best of all constitutions”
  • He and 30 friends take over the marketplace

Legals changes 1, 2, 3

• ONE: Gerousia (Senate)
  • γέρων (gerōn) – old man – Council of Elders --> γερουσία (Gerousia)
  • senex – old man – Council of Elders --> Senate (see Life of Romulus)
  • Rhetrai [sections 6 and 13]
    • Verbal contracts with sacred force
    • The name for most utterances of the gods to men
    • Not to be ignored or trampled over lightly
    • “named in the belief that they came from the gods as oracles”
  • The GREAT RHETRA (from Apollo)
    • Mixed Constitution
      • 2 Kings
      • Gerousia
      • 5 Ephors – balance the power of the oligarchs
• TWO: Redistribution of Land
  • Purpose – “To end jealousy, vice, and luxury”
  • Homoioi – equals
  • Perikoikoi – (not mentioned in this life)
  • Helots – etym. “the seized” a particularly brutal form of slavery, even by an ancient standard [28]
  • Citizens forbidden from
    • Using coins (iron bars instead)
    • Practicing a trade
• THREE: Syssitia (Common Meals)
  • Fixed Menu – black broth the staple!
  • Wealth – blind, lifeless, and still in Sparta
  • The wealthy react poorly
  • Lycurgus loses an eye!
    • Punishment for Alcander
      • Serve Lycurgus
      • Converted to thinking L is best man and himself becomes “Sparta’s most well-mannered and wise citizens”
      • Temple to Athena Optilis
    • The COHORT (15 members)
      • Everyone contributes food
      • King Agis not allowed to dine at home
      • Children learn self-discipline here (GRK: σωφροσύνη)
        • What happens in here, stays in here
        • Take a joke, and give one!
      • Bread-basket ballot
• Three other minor rhetras
  • Don’t write these down! (Training and Ethics more important than Laws)
  • Simple Homes: All tools except ax and saw forbidden
  • Don’t fight consistently against the same enemy
• Marriage and Childbirth [14-16]
• The Agōgē (ἀγωγή) [16-19] and the Political Setup (for next time)

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Parallel - Theseus

Origin Stories

• Rome: What's in a name?
• From Aeneas to Alba Longa
• Romulus and Remus: Childhood
  • Left to die by a river
  • Wolf and woodpecker
• Romulus and Remus: Off to Found a City
  • Rome is for runaways! Open the gates and seize the...day?
  • Location, location, location!
  • Vultures? 6/12? First/Second?
  • Walls and Ditches – death of Remus
  • Plows the circumference: pomerium etym.

Rome's Birthday - April 21, 753 BC

Roman Customs: More Etymologies and etiologies

• Legion v. Populus
• Patricians
• Senate < senex – old man
• Patrons and Clients

Sabine Women

• Not the Sobbin' Women...
• Did Romulus need women or want war?
• R. sets up a feast (finds an altar?)
• Conses < consilium
  • On my signal…
  • How many taken?
    • 30, 527, or 683?

Origin of the Roman Triumph

• Acron v. Romulus: 1 v. 1
• R. wins and dedicates his armor to Jupiter

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867), Romulus’ Victory over Acron (i.e. the first Roman Triumph), (1812), tempera on canvas, 276 x 530 cm, École des Beaux Arts, Paris. Wikimedia Commons.Plutarch's Walking Tour of Rome

• Tarpeian Rock
• Lacus Curtius
• Jupiter Stator
• Etym. Quirites?

Civic Duties

• Three Tribes
• 100 more Senators
• Privileges for Women
• Feasts, old and new
• Vestals, sacred fire (more on this in the Life of Numa)
• Lituus and Augurs
• Laws
• Divorce
• Murder / Parricide

Romulus' End and Rome's Beginning

• Tatius, co-king, killed
• Haughty King
  • Lictors – etym.
• Numitor dies; Romulus inherits Alba
• Romulus disappears
  • Murdered?
  • Taken up into heaven?
• Romulus' advice to the Romans:
  • "Tell the Romans that if they practice self-restraint, and add to it valor, they will reach the utmost heights of human power."

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Although Theseus never actually existed, Plutarch, in documenting his life, wants to cull important lessons for Greeks and Romans. Just as Theseus wrestles with villains threatening civilization, Plutarch forces his readers to grapple with the role of virtue in politics, or, less abstractly, the role the virtuous man has to play in his polis: i.e. how to be a citizen rather than a subject. This becomes explicit at the end of Theseus's life when he ceases to be a good king and becomes a tyrant, stripping citizenship from the Athenians by returning them to subjugation under a king.

Historical Context - Emergence from the Dark Ages

• Bronze-Age to Iron Age transition:
  • Dark Ages:
    • What were they?
  • Bronze Age civilizations:
    • Egypt
    • Hittites
    • Sumer/Akkad/Babylonians
    • Minoans and Myceneans (Aegean)
  • Middle Period:
    • As most major civilizations in decline, the smaller civilizations seem to rise and fill in the gaps:
      • Phoenicians
      • Hebrews
      • Arameans
      • Philistines
    • For the Greeks, though, they lose writing and reading and see a mass exodus from the old urban centers of Mycenean Greece.
  • Iron Age civilizations:
    • Neo-Assyrians
    • Neo-Babylonians
    • Persians
    • Greeks
    • Romans
    • Etc…

Outline

• Parentage
• Comes of age
  • Delphi
  • Theseus’s haircut
• Sword and Sandals under a rock
  • Sea = safe
  • Land = dangerous
• Theseus personally cleans up the land around the Saronic Gulf
  • @ Epidaurus (wins his club)
  • On the isthmus of Corinth
  • Crommyonian Sow
  • Wrestles near Eleusis
  • Procrustes
    • Cf. Hercules and how he killed his monsters and fiends
• Theseus receives first real hospitality at the Cephisus River, just outside of Athens
• Arrival in Athens
  • Medea!? Poison!?
  • Recognition and Inheritance
  • Revolt!
  • First battle in Athens (neighborhoods named)
• Bull of Marathon
• Theseus and the Minotaur
  • Plague and Expiation
  • The most “likely” (common?) story
  • Was Minos good/bad?
    • Why does Plutarch have to defend Minos?
  • Alternative stories
    • Vary by geographic region
  • Return: the sail!
  • Philosophical Problems: The Ship of Theseus
• Theseus unites Athens and Attica
  • Centralizes authority
  • Institutes common feasts
    • Oscophoria
    • Panathenaic Festival
  • Establishes three classes of citizen:
    • Nobles
    • Craftsmen
    • Farmers
  • Gives nobles most power over law and religion
  • Opens Athens as a “commonwealth of all nations” (cf. Romulus welcoming refugees)
• The many other adventures of Theseus
  • The Amazons
    • Source for Shakespeare’s Hippolyta and Theseus in Midsummer Night’s Dream?
    • Second battle in Athens, more neighborhoods named
  • False marriages
  • False adventures
    • Theseus did NOT participate in
      • Jason and the Argonauts
      • Meleager and the Boar (cf. Iliad Book 9; Ovid Metamorphoses Bk. 7/8)
      • Seven Against Thebes
  • His friendship with Perithous
    • Did involve him in the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs
  • Seizure of Helen
    • Ends up in prison to the King of Molossus
    • Heracles frees him
• Theseus returns to Athens
  • Castor and Pollux
    • brothers of Helen and mythical Spartans
    • causing trouble in Athens
• Theseus curses the Athenians, giving them what they want (des

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We are not born for ourselves alone; a part of us is claimed by our nation, another part by our friends. De Officiis, I.22

Parallel - Demosthenes

Cicero lived and died as a political failure. In what ways, then, is his failure worth studying. In what ways did he succeed? In many ways, he and Vergil become the teachers of Western Europe all the way down to the present day. Can we declare Cicero a victor in the long-run, or should we study only his failures as a warning?

Outline

• Cicero's Early Political Rise
  • Military tribune under Sulla in Italy
  • Pro Rosciō – defends a political enemy of Sulla’s
  • Flees to Greece
    • Delphic advice
    • Fluent in Greek, studying Greek philosophy
  • Quaestor in Sicily
    • Fights corruption
    • Breadbasket of Italy (before the Romans conquered Egypt)
  • Praetor in Rome
• Consulship – height of Cicero's powers
  • Conspiracy of Catiline
    • Catiline not elected consul
    • Turns to force and fire to overthrow the Senate and the city of Rome
  • Trial before the Senate?
  • Death Penalty?
    • Caesar’s speech - clementia
    • Cato’s speech – treason deserves death, always has.
  • Vixerunt – they have lived! (i.e. they’re dead)
  • Cato declares Cicero pater patriae “father of the fatherland”
  • Cicero later reminisces about the event as “arma togae cedunt” (De Officiis I.77)
    • Arms yield to the toga (On duties I.77)
• Bona Dea Scandal and Exile
  • Publius Clodius Pulcher changes from friend to enemy
  • Cicero flees, then Clodius officially banishes him
    • Depressed in Greece (cf. Demosthenes depressed in Troezen)
• Return from Exile and First Round of Civil War
  • Returns like a hero
  • Forgiven by Caesar (cf. Demosthenes forgiven by Alexander)
  • Not included in Brutus and Cassius’ conspiracy
    • see Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Act II, scene i
    • Brutus says “He will never follow any thing / That other men begin”
• Second Round of Civil War
  • The Philippics – consciously comparing the tyranny of Philip with the tyranny of Antony
    • Attacks Mark Antony explicitly
    • Antony retaliates with proscription (etym.)
  • Octavian not strong enough to save Cicero
    • Act IV, scene I of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”
• History written by the victors?
  • Augustus later sees his nephew reading a book of Cicero… how does he react?
  • Octavian eventually removes statues and honors of Mark Antony, but Cicero’s writing is preserved.
    • One of the best-preserved authors from pagan antiquity
      • Thanks to Tiro and Atticus
    • Influenced:
      • St. Jerome
      • St. Augustine
      • Erasmus
      • Luther
      • Locke
      • Hume
      • Jefferson
      • Adams
    • Strongest influence in bringing together Latin and Greek thought
      • Much like Plutarch
      • Wanted to "teach philosophy to speak Latin" (Tusc. 2.5)
        • philosophia nascatur Latinis quidem litteris ex his temporibus

Important People

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Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise.
—Plutarch “Cato the Elder” Para. 9.4

Parallel - Aristides

Sometimes called Cato the Censor or Cato the Elder because he is the great-grandfather of the more famous Cato the Younger who resisted Julius Caesar in the first century civil wars. This Cato (234-149 BC) sets the standard for the old Roman agricultural and military virtues. He may be the best of breed, but he also seems to be the last of them.

Outline

Roman History in a Nutshell:

Kings: 753-509 BC

The Republic: 509-31 BC

The Emperors:

• 31 BC – AD476 (in the West)
• 31 BC – AD 1453 (in the East)

Cursus Honorum

• • Military Tribune
  • Quaestor – Accountant
  • Praetor – Judge/governor
  • Consul – commander-in-chief of the army, leader of the Senate
  • Censor – in charge of public morals

Militiae – on military duty with Cato

• • Second Punic War - military tribune
  • Sicily – quaestor
  • Sardinia – praetor
  • Hither Spain – consul
  • Greece – as legate
    • Thermopylae 2!

Domī - At Home with Cato

• In Rome
  • Censor
  • Anti-Greek
  • Anti-Carthaginian
  • Anti-luxury
• At home
  • Raises his own son
  • Profit and gain
  • Leave behind more than you receive
  • Advice for the treatment of slaves sounds harsh even to Plutarch

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ῥᾷστον ἁπάντων ἐστὶν αὑτὸν ἐξαπατῆσαι: ὃ γὰρ βούλεται, τοῦθ᾽ ἕκαστος καὶ οἴεταιNothing is easier than self-deceit, for what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true.—Demosthenes “Third Olynthiac” 19

Parallel - Cicero

OUTLINE

• Introduces both Cicero and Demosthenes
  • Learned Latin Late
  • A good city for research
  • Why stay in a small town?
• Rise to Political Power
• Philip
• Alexander and Exile
• Antipater and the End

Important People

• Philip –
  • Demosthenes strongly resists Philip's incursion into Greek politics until Chaeronea (338 BC)
  • Demosthenes flees the battle of Chaeronea but is still chosen by the Athenians to give the funeral oration.
• Alexander
  • As Alexander comes to power, Demosthenes' life is spared because of the eloquence of an enemy, Demades.
• Aeschines – Political and personal opponent of Demosthenes of whom three speeches still survive (all having to do with Demosthenes)
  • Aeschines v. Demosthenes several times in court
  • Aeschines finally loses and goes into exile to avoid a fine.
• Demades – Orator none of whose works survive. Considered, during his lifetime, to be better than Demosthenes. Because he doesn’t survive, we can’t compare the two. The power of preparedness. Famously quoted in the Life of Solon as saying "Draco wrote his laws not in ink, but in blood"
• Antipater – Regent in Macedon while Alexander campaigned against Persia, he fights a war against the Greeks who revolt at the news of Alexander’s death.

Important Places

• Athens
• Chaeronea (338 BC) – The battle in which Philip cements his control over all of mainland Greece, except for Sparta.
• Troezen/Aegina– The city and island where Demosthenes spends his time while in exile. He flees here again at the end of his life and likely dies right outside a temple to Poseidon outside of his beloved Athens.

See full show notes at
plutarch.life/demosthenes
grammaticus.co/podcast/demosthenes

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Solon was not only the wisest man to be found in Athens, but the most profound political genius of antiquity; and the easy, bloodless, and pacific revolution by which he accomplished the deliverance of his country was the first step in a career which our age glories in pursuing, and instituted a power which has done more than anything, except revealed religion, for the regeneration of society .... By making every citizen the guardian of his own interest Solon admitted the element of Democracy into the State.

—Lord Acton, "The History of Freedom in Antiquity" (1877)

• Rise to power
• Political background in Athens
  • Divisions
    • Rich v. Poor
    • Hill v. Shore v. Plain
• Legislation 1, 2, 3!
  • 1) repeal Draconian laws
  • 2) Set up the Census Classes
  • 3) Areopagus, Council of 400, Assembly
  • Aporias – the weird and bewildering
• Travel
  • Egypt
  • Crete
  • Asia
• Return
• Tyranny

Important People

• Thales
• Pisistratus
• Cylon and Draco – political back-story for Athens

Important Places

• Salamis
• Megara
• Delphi
• Egypt (Canopus)
  • Atlantis
• Crete
• Lydia

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Aristides acts as a great introduction to the wars that made Athens great, the defensive wars against the Persian invaders, occurring between 490 and 479 BC. Plutarch admired Aristides immensely, so he serves as a great introduction to the standards Plutarch holds up for the other leaders he studies.

The outline of his life pretty much follows the important events of the Persian Wars:

• Marathon – 490 BC
• Political Height
  • eponymous archon
  • ostracism (etymology!)
• Salamis – 480 BC
• Plataea Disaster – 479 BC
• Aftermath
  • From defense to offense
  • Rise of the Delian League

I also link the important people to their places:

• Miltiades is general at Marathon
• Themistocles is the mastermind behind Salamis
• Pausanias leads at Plataea

Translation

The most modern translation available, while still being in the public domain.

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In this podcast, I introduce you to Plutarch, the man and the biographer.

We answer questions like:

Who was Plutarch?
An ancient biographer who wrote almost 50 biographies comparing Greek and Roman heroes. While his focus in on virtue, his characters are all human and their vices appear alongside their virtues.

Why should I read him?

He gives three reasons in three separate biographies! I put them all together here in one place.

What's the format of this show?

One episode per life, arranged chronologically.

The first five episodes will represent each season as we work through chronologically for a historical overview of Greek and Roman antiquity.

1. Solon (representing Season 1: Kings and Lawgivers)
2. Aristides (representing Season 2: The Rise and Fall of the Polis)
3. Demosthenes (representing Season 3: Macedon Rising)
4. Cato the Elder (representing Season 4: The Roman Republic: From Polis to Empire)
5. Cicero (representing Season 5: The Roman Civil Wars)

What's the best English translation of Plutarch?

That depends on what you're looking for, but I list all the translations mentioned in the show below:

• Wikipedia page linking to all public domain translations of Plutarch
• The Modern Library editions (Clough's update to Dryden's translation):
  • Two paperback volumes
    • Vol. 1
    • Vol. 2
  • One hardback volume (ISBN: 0394607058)
• The Penguin Editions:
  • The Rise and Fall of Athens (9 lives)
  • On Sparta (4 lives)
  • The Age of Alexander
  • Makers of Rome (9 lives) - this volume includes Brutus and Antony, the lives I said were missing from the other volume.
  • Rome in Crisis (repeats some lives, and strikes me as an odd assortment overall)
  • Fall of the Roman Republic (6 lives)

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