Plutarch
Plutarch (/ˈpluːtɑːrk/; Greek: Πλούταρχος, Ploútarchos; Koinē Greek: [ˈplúːtarkʰos]; c. AD 46 – after AD 119)[1] was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher,[2] historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of illustrious Greeks and Romans, and Moralia, a collection of essays and speeches.[3] Upon becoming a Roman citizen, he was possibly named Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (Λούκιος Μέστριος Πλούταρχος).[4][a]
Not to be confused with Plutarchy.
Plutarch
Biographer, essayist, philosopher, priest, ambassador, magistrate
Life[edit]
Early life[edit]
Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the small town of Chaeronea,[5] about 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Delphi, in the Greek region of Boeotia. His family was long established in the town; his father was named Autobulus and his grandfather was named Lamprias.[4] His name is a compound of the Greek words πλοῦτος, ('wealth') and ἀρχός, ('ruler, leader'). In the traditional aspirational Greek naming convention the whole name means something like "prosperous leader". His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are frequently mentioned in his essays and dialogues, which speak of Timon in particular in the most affectionate terms. Rualdus, in his 1624 work Life of Plutarchus, recovered the name of Plutarch's wife, Timoxena, from internal evidence afforded by his writings. A letter is still extant, addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not to grieve too much at the death of their two-year-old daughter, who was named Timoxena after her mother. He hinted at a belief in reincarnation in that letter of consolation.[6]
Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy in Athens under Ammonius from AD 66 to 67.[1] He attended the games of Delphi where the emperor Nero competed and possibly met prominent Romans, including future emperor Vespasian.[7] Plutarch and Timoxena had at least four sons and one daughter, although two died in childhood. The loss of his daughter and a young son, Chaeron, are mentioned in his letter to Timoxena.[8] Two sons, named Autoboulos and Plutarch, appear in a number of Plutarch's works; Plutarch's treatise on Plato's Timaeus is dedicated to them.[9] It is likely that a third son, named Soklaros after Plutarch's confidant Soklaros of Tithora, survived to adulthood as well, although he is not mentioned in Plutarch's later works; a Lucius Mestrius Soclarus, who shares Plutarch's Latin family name, appears in an inscription in Boeotia from the time of Trajan.[10] Traditionally, the surviving catalog of Plutarch's works is ascribed to another son, named Lamprias after Plutarch's grandfather;[11] most modern scholars believe this tradition is a later interpolation.[12] Plutarch's treatise on marriage questions, addressed to Eurydice and Pollianus,[13] seems to speak of the former as having recently lived in his house, but without any clear evidence on whether she was his daughter or not.[14]
