Companion to Plutarch

Mark Beck is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches courses on Greek and Roman authors and classical civilization courses. He has published numerous articles and chapters on Plutarch and is the author of the forthcoming book, Understanding Classics: Plutarch (2012).

• Notes on Contributors x Acknowledgments xviiNote on the Translations and Abbreviations xviiiIntroduction: Plutarch in Greece 1Mark BeckPart I Plutarch in Context 111 Plutarch and Rome 13Philip A. Stadter2 Plutarch and the Second Sophistic 32Thomas A. Schmitz3 The Role of Philosophy and Philosophers in the Imperial Period 43Michael TrappPart II Plutarch’s Moralia 594 Plutarch and Platonism 61John Dillon5 Plutarch, Aristotle, and the Peripatetics 73Francesco Becchi (translated by Pia Bertucci)6 Plutarch and the Stoics 88Jan Opsomer7 Plutarch and Epicureanism 104Eleni Kechagia-Ovseiko8 Plutarch and the Skeptics 121Mauro Bonazzi (translated by Pia Bertucci)9 Practical Ethics 135Lieve Van Hoof10 Political Philosophy 149Christopher Pelling11 Religion and Myth 163Rainer Hirsch-Luipold (translated by Mark Beck)12 Poetry and Education 177Ewen Bowie13 Love and Marriage 191Georgia Tsouvala14 The Sympotic Works 207Frieda Klotz15 Animals in Plutarch 223Stephen T. Newmyer16 Plutarch the Antiquarian 235Pascal Payen (translated by Cara Welch)Part III Plutarch’s Biographical Projects 24917 The Lives of the Caesars 251Aristoula Georgiadou18 Plutarch’s Galba and Otho 267Lukas de Blois19 The Aratus and the Artaxerxes 278Eran Almagor20 The Project of the Parallel Lives: Plutarch’s Conception of Biography 292Joseph Geiger21 Kratein onomatôn: Language and Value in Plutarch 304Alexei V. Zadorojnyi22 Compositional Methods in the Lives 321Luc Van der Stockt23 The Prologues 333Timothy E. Duff24 Morality, Characterization, and Individuality 350Anastasios G. Nikolaidis25 Childhood and Youth 373Carmen Soares (translated by Camila Alvahydo)26 Death and Other Kinds of Closure 391Craig Cooper27 The Synkrisis 405David H.J. Larmour28 The Use of Historical Sources 417Maria Teresa Schettino (translated by Pia Bertucci)29 Tragedy and the Hero 437Judith Mossman30 The Philosopher-King 449Bernard Boulet31 The Socratic Paradigm 463Mark Beck32 Fate and Fortune 479Frances B. Titchener33 The Perils of Ambition 488Françoise Frazier (translated by Cara Welch)34 Sex, Eroticism, and Politics 503Jeffrey Beneker35 Philanthropy, Dignity, and Euergetism 516Geert RoskamPart IV The Reception of Plutarch 52936 The Reception of Plutarch from Antiquity to the Italian Renaissance 531Marianne Pade37 The Renaissance in France: Amyot and Montaigne 544Olivier Guerrier (translated by Cara Welch)38 The Reception of Plutarch in France after the Renaissance 549Françoise Frazier (translated by Cara Welch)39 The Reception of Plutarch in Spain 556Aurelio Pérez Jiménez40 Shakespeare 577Gordon Braden41 The Post-Renaissance Reception of Plutarch in England 592Judith Mossman42 Plutarch and the Early American Republic 598Carl J. RichardIndex 611

“In sum, this handsomely produced companion provides a snapshot of current research on Plutarch, while also lighting the way for new directions of inquiry about one of our most important sources on the ancient Mediterranean.”  (Religious Studies Review, 1 September 2015)“As a collection of essays on Plutarch the philosopher, moralist, biographer, and human being, Beck’s companion offers a well-rounded, enjoyable, and state-of-the-art introduction.”  (New England Classical Journal, 1 May 2015)  “This book studies him in his broader contemporary and later contexts and will be invaluable to anyone, student or specialist, investigating the culture of Plutarch’s times as well, of course, as the subject himself.”  (Reference Reviews, 1 December 2014“All in all, Beck’s Companion to Plutarch has now become the major reference work for scholars and students of Plutarch, as well as for a wider class of readers (specialists and non-specialists alike) who want to enter the charming world of the Chaeronean philosopher.”  (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 1 September 2014)