Authors

Plutarch

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Plutarch, who lived from the year 46 BC to the year 120 AD, was a renowned author and thinker of ancient Greece known for his many writings that have greatly influenced Western literature.

Early Life and Education

He was born in Chaeronea, a small town in Boeotia, an ancient region of Greece. There, he received a good education in philosophy and rhetoric in Athens, the great seat of learning in ancient times.

Works

Plutarch is famous for authoring a sequence of biographical narratives known as Parallel Lives about notable personages from ancient Greece and Rome. In this book, he pairs a Greek individual with a Roman who shares a resemblance to the former in terms of character or core values and shows their differences. For example, he compared Alexander the Great with Julius Caesar and Theseus to Romulus.

Plutarch did not mean this work to remain only historical, but also to perform moral functions. His intention was to make good morals known to people with these comparisons. He narrated his stories so vividly that the works have been enjoyed by many people since then.

Another important work by Plutarch is Moralia, in which there are more than seventy different essays and dialogues on various topics such as philosophy, religion, politics and literature. They give us an insight into what was considered right or wrong in his day, ethically speaking as well as culturally speaking.

Plutarch was known to follow Platonic philosophy in his works. Due to the several philosophical traditions he was familiar with, such as Stoicism and Aristotelianism, his works reflected many of their ideas.

Personal Life

Plutarch was also engaged in public service in his own local area of Chaeronea and acted as a priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. His civic and religious responsibilities did not prevent him from pursuing his academic interests; as a result, he continually wrote throughout his lifetime.

Legacy

Plutarch's works were highly influential during the Renaissance when his writings were rediscovered and translated into many European languages. Parallel Lives inspired many writers and thinkers, including Shakespeare, who drew upon Plutarch's biographies for his own plays. Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra were two examples.

Plutarch's work is valued for their ethical teachings and their rich historical and cultural content. They are studied for their literary merit and historical insights.

Plutarch's works are still studied and analysed by modern scholars for their historical and literary significance. Because he combined biography with moral philosophy, his works stand out as unique and useful to both literary critics and historians.

Plutarch's evocative blend of history, ethics and philosophy has secured his place as one of the most important thinkers in Western intellectual history. It is through his words that we get a glimpse of the past as well as lasting thoughts regarding what it means to be human and what constitutes good human behaviour.

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