Plutarch
Greek and Roman philosopher, historian, and priest of Apollo
Plutarch was a Greek philosopher, historian, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi who lived from before CE 50 to after 120.[1]
Quick Facts
- Born
- before AD 50
- Birthplace
- Chaeronea, Boeotia
- Died
- after AD 120
- Place of death
- Delphi, Phocis
- Occupation
- Biographer
- essayist
- philosopher
- priest
- diplomat
- magistrate
- School of thought
- Middle Platonism
- Notable works
- Parallel Lives; Moralia
- Region
- Ancient philosophy
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
His sponsor for Roman citizenship was Lucius Mestrius Florus, an associate of Vespasian.[2] Plutarch lived most of his life at Chaeronea and was initiated into the mysteries of the Greek god Apollo.[3] His best-known work, the Parallel Lives, contains 23 surviving pairs of Greek and Roman lives, plus four unpaired single lives.[4] Plutarch's birthplace was Chaeronea, a small town in Boeotia located roughly 30 km east of Delphi, where his family was prominent.[2]
In approximately AD 95, he was appointed as one of the two priests serving the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.[5] In his hometown, Plutarch served as archon, a position that was likely held for one-year terms, and he probably occupied it on multiple occasions.[6]
What the cited sources add
The Delphi museum account states Plutarch was born into a local elite family and received excellent education from his grandfather Lamprias and in philosophical schools of Athens.[7] It notes that after extensive travel and rising in the Roman hierarchy, Plutarch returned to Chaeronea and assumed the priesthood in Delphi, where he passed the last 30 years of his life.[7] Clough's account describes Plutarch's teacher Ammonius once giving directions for chastisement to his own son during a lecture.[6] Clough also relates that Plutarch's nephew taught the virtuous emperor by his own example.[6]
The same source mentions Plutarch in his priestly capacity gave an entertainment in honor of a poetic victor at the Pythia.[6] Clough's account includes that the dramatis personae of Plutarch's various pieces form a company of more than eighty names, including philosophers, rhetoricians, and physicians.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Plutarch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Russell 2012; Dillon 1996, p. 184 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Plutarch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stadter 2014, p. 13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Plutarch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mark, "The Eleusinian Mysteries: The Rites of Demeter", World History Encyclopedia, 18 January 2012; Stadter 2014, p. 13 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Plutarch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Plutarch", www.historyofcreativity.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Plutarch" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stadter 2014, p. 13; Russell 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Clough, "Plutarch's Lives", Liberty Library of Constitutional Classics, 1864. facts only, no text reused. constitution.org
- "SELECTED EXHIBITS – Archaeological Site of Delphi – Museum of Delphi", Delphi.culture.gr, 11 December 2019. facts only, no text reused. delphi.culture.gr
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Plutarch (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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