Editing Plutarch (section)

==Works==
===''Parallel Lives''===
{{Main|Parallel Lives}}
Plutarch's best-known work is the ''Parallel Lives'', a series of [[biography|biographies]] of illustrious Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common [[morality|moral]] virtues and vices, thus it being more of an insight into human nature than a [[History|historical]] account. As is explained in the opening paragraph of his ''Life of Alexander'',<ref>{{Cite book|last=Plutarch|title=The life of Alexander|page=1}}</ref> Plutarch was not concerned with history so much as the influence of character, good or bad, on the lives and destinies of men. Whereas sometimes he barely touched on epoch-making events, he devoted much space to charming anecdote and incidental triviality, reasoning that this often said far more for his subjects than even their most famous accomplishments. He sought to provide rounded portraits, likening his craft to that of a painter; indeed, he went to tremendous lengths (often leading to tenuous comparisons) to draw [[Physiognomy|parallels between physical appearance]] and [[moral character]].{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

The surviving ''Lives'' contain 23 pairs, each with one Greek life and one Roman life, as well as four unpaired single lives. Some of the ''Lives'', such as those of [[Heracles]], [[Philip II of Macedon]], [[Epaminondas]], [[Scipio Africanus]], [[Scipio Aemilianus]] and possibly [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus]] no longer exist; many of the remaining ''Lives'' are truncated, contain obvious [[lacuna (manuscripts)|lacunae]] or have been tampered with by later writers.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} 

Extant ''Lives'' include those on [[Solon]], [[Themistocles]], [[Aristides]], [[Agesilaus II]], [[Pericles]], [[Alcibiades]], [[Nicias]], [[Demosthenes]], [[Pelopidas]], [[Philopoemen]], [[Timoleon]], [[Dion of Syracuse]], [[Eumenes]], [[Alexander the Great]], [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]], [[Romulus]], [[Numa Pompilius]], [[Gaius Marcius Coriolanus|Coriolanus]], [[Theseus]], [[Aemilius Paullus]], [[Tiberius Gracchus]], [[Gaius Gracchus]], [[Gaius Marius]], [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla|Sulla]], [[Sertorius]], [[Lucullus]], [[Pompey]], [[Julius Caesar]], [[Cicero]], [[Cato the Elder]], [[Cato the Younger]], [[Mark Antony]], and [[Marcus Junius Brutus]].

====''Life of Alexander''====
{{quote box|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|width=30em
|"It is not ''histories'' I am writing, but ''lives''; and in the most glorious deeds there is not always an indication of virtue or vice, indeed a small thing like a phrase or a jest often makes a greater revelation of a character than battles where thousands die."|''Life of Alexander'' }}
Plutarch's ''Life of Alexander'', written as a parallel to that of Julius Caesar, is one of five extant tertiary sources on the Macedonian conqueror [[Alexander the Great]]. It includes [[anecdote]]s and descriptions of events that appear in no other source, just as Plutarch's portrait of [[Numa Pompilius]], the putative second king of Rome, holds much that is unique on the early [[Roman calendar]]. Plutarch devotes a great deal of space to Alexander's drive and desire, and strives to determine how much of it was presaged in his youth. He also draws extensively on the work of [[Lysippos]], Alexander's favourite [[sculptor]], to provide what is probably the fullest and most accurate description of the conqueror's physical appearance. When it comes to his character, Plutarch emphasizes his unusual degree of self-control and scorn for luxury: "He desired not pleasure or wealth, but only excellence and glory." As the narrative progresses, the subject incurs less admiration from his biographer and the deeds that it recounts become less savoury. The murder of [[Cleitus the Black]], which Alexander instantly and deeply regretted, is commonly cited to this end.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

====''Life of Caesar''====
Together with [[Suetonius]]'s ''[[The Twelve Caesars]]'', and [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]'s own works [[Commentarii de Bello Gallico|''de Bello Gallico'']] and ''[[Commentarii de Bello Civili|de Bello Civili]]'', the ''Life of Caesar'' is the main account of [[Julius Caesar]]'s feats by ancient historians. Plutarch starts by telling of the audacity of Caesar and his refusal to dismiss [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna|Cinna's]] daughter, [[Cornelia (wife of Caesar)|Cornelia]]. Other important parts are those containing his military deeds, accounts of battles and Caesar's capacity of inspiring the soldiers.

Plutarch's life shows few differences from Suetonius' work and Caesar's own works (see ''[[De Bello Gallico]]'' and ''[[De Bello Civili]]''). Sometimes, Plutarch quotes directly from the ''De Bello Gallico'' and even tells us of the moments when Caesar was dictating his works. In the final part of this life, Plutarch recounts details of [[Assassination of Julius Caesar|Caesar's assassination]]. It ends by telling the destiny of his murderers, just after a detailed account of the scene when a [[Ghost|phantom]] appeared to [[Marcus Junius Brutus|Brutus]] at night.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Plutarch|title=The life of Caesar}}</ref>

====''Life of Pyrrhus''====
Plutarch's ''Life of Pyrrhus'' is a key text because it is the main historical account on Roman history for the period from 293 to 264&nbsp;BCE, for which both [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus|Dionysius]]' and [[Livy]]'s texts are lost.<ref name=TJCornell>{{cite book |last=Cornell |first=T.J. |year=1995 |title=The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c.&nbsp;1000–264&nbsp;BC) |publisher=Routledge |page=3 |chapter=Introduction}}</ref>

===''Moralia''===
{{Main|Moralia}}
The remainder of Plutarch's surviving work is collected under the title of the ''Moralia'' (loosely translated as ''Customs and Mores''). It is an eclectic collection of seventy-eight essays and transcribed speeches, including "Concerning the Face Which Appears in the Orb of the Moon" (a dialogue on the possible causes for such an appearance and a source for Galileo's own work),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bakker & Palmerino |title=Motion to the Center or Motion to the Whole? Plutarch's Views on Gravity and Their Influence on Galileo |journal=Isis |date=2020 |volume=111 |issue=2 |pages=217–238 |doi=10.1086/709138 |s2cid=219925047 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/709138|hdl=2066/219256 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> "On Fraternal Affection" (a discourse on honour and affection of siblings toward each other), "On the Fortune or the Virtue of [[Alexander the Great]]" (an important adjunct to his Life of the great king), and "On the Worship of [[Isis]] and [[Osiris]]" (a crucial source of information on [[ancient Egyptian religion]]);<ref>(but which according to Erasmus referred to the Thessalonians){{cite web|url=http://altreligion.about.com/library/texts/bl_isisandosiris.htm|title=Isis and Osiris|access-date=10 December 2006|last=Plutarch|others=Frank Cole Babbitt (trans.)|archive-date=14 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914104237/http://altreligion.about.com/library/texts/bl_isisandosiris.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> more philosophical treatises, such as "On the Decline of the Oracles", "On the Delays of the Divine Vengeance", and "On Peace of Mind"; and lighter fare, such as "[[Odysseus]] and Gryllus", a humorous [[dialogue]] between [[Homer]]'s Odysseus and one of [[Circe]]'s enchanted pigs.

====Pseudepigrapha====
{{Main|Pseudo-Plutarch}}
Some editions of the ''Moralia'' include several works now known to have been falsely attributed to Plutarch. Among these are the ''Lives of the Ten Orators'', a series of biographies of the [[Attic orators]] based on [[Caecilius of Calacte]]; ''On the Opinions of the Philosophers'', ''On Fate'', and ''On Music''.<ref name=Blank>{{cite book| last= Blank| first= D.| year= 2011| chapter= 'Plutarch' and the Sophistry of 'Noble Lineage'| editor-first= J. |editor-last= Martínez | title= Fakes and Forgers of Classical Literature| location= Madrid| publisher= Ediciones Clásicas| pages= 33–60}}</ref> These works are all attributed to a single, unknown author, referred to as "[[Pseudo-Plutarch]]".<ref name="Blank"/> Pseudo-Plutarch lived sometime between the third and fourth centuries AD. Despite being falsely attributed, the works are still considered to possess historical value.<ref>{{cite book| first= Don E.| last= Marietta| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Gz-8PsrT32AC |title= Introduction to Ancient Philosophy| publisher= M.E. Sharpe| year= 1998| page= 190 |number= 11| isbn= 978-0-7656-0216-9}}</ref>

===Lives of the Roman emperors===
Plutarch's first biographical works were the Lives of the Roman Emperors from [[Augustus]] to [[Vitellius]]. These early emperors' biographies were probably published under the [[Flavian dynasty]] or during the reign of Nerva (AD 96–98). Of these, only the Lives of [[Galba]] and [[Otho]] survive. The Lives of [[Tiberius]] and [[Nero]] are extant only as fragments, provided by Damascius<ref>(Life of Tiberius, cf. his Life of Isidore) Ziegler, Konrad, Plutarchos von Chaironeia (Stuttgart 1964), 258. Citation translated by the author.</ref> as well as Plutarch himself,<ref>Life of Nero, cf. Galba 2.1</ref> respectively. There is reason to believe that the two Lives still extant, those of Galba and Otho, "ought to be considered as a single work." Therefore, they do not form a part of the Plutarchian canon of single biographies – as represented by the Life of [[Aratus of Sicyon]] and the Life of [[Artaxerxes II of Persia|Artaxerxes II]] (the biographies of [[Hesiod]], [[Pindar]], [[Crates (comic poet)|Crates]] and Daiphantus were lost). ''Galba-Otho'' can be found in the appendix to Plutarch's ''Parallel Lives'' as well as in various Moralia manuscripts, most prominently in [[Maximus Planudes]]' edition where Galba and Otho appear as ''Opera'' XXV and XXVI. Thus it seems reasonable to maintain that ''Galba-Otho'' was from early on considered as an illustration of a moral-ethical approach.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

===Lost works===
The [[Lost literary work|lost works]] of Plutarch are determined by references in his own texts to them and from other authors' references over time. Parts of the ''Lives'' and what would be considered parts of the ''Moralia'' have been lost. The 'Catalogue of Lamprias', an ancient list of works attributed to Plutarch, lists 227 works, of which 78 have come down to us.{{sfn|Russell|2012}} The Romans loved the ''Lives''. Enough copies were written out over the centuries so that a copy of most of the lives has survived to the present day, but there are traces of twelve more Lives that are now lost.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Parallel Lives|publisher=Loeb Classical Library Edition|edition=Vol. I|year=1914|chapter=Translator's Introduction|chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Introduction*.html }}</ref> Plutarch's general procedure for the ''Lives'' was to write the life of a prominent Greek, then cast about for a suitable Roman parallel, and end with a brief comparison of the Greek and Roman lives. Currently, only 19 of the parallel lives end with a comparison, while possibly they all did at one time. Also missing are many of his ''Lives'' which appear in a list of his writings: those of Hercules, the first pair of ''Parallel Lives'', [[Scipio Africanus]] and [[Epaminondas]], and the companions to the four solo biographies, as well as biographies of important figures such as [[Augustus]], [[Claudius]] and [[Nero]].<ref name="NewCriterion">{{cite web|last=Kimball|first=Roger|title=Plutarch & the issue of character|url=http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/19/dec00/plutarch.htm|publisher=The New Criterion Online|access-date=11 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061116200602/http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/19/dec00/plutarch.htm|archive-date=16 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-classics.com/plutarch.htm|title=Plutarch – His Life and Legacy|access-date=10 December 2006|last=McCutchen|first=Wilmot H. |website=e-classics.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205061217/http://e-classics.com/plutarch.htm|archive-date=5 December 2006}}</ref> Lost works that would have been part of the ''Moralia'' include "Whether One Who [[epoche|Suspends Judgment on Everything]] Is Condemned to Inaction", "On [[Pyrrho]]'s Ten Modes", and "On the Difference between the [[Pyrrhonism|Pyrrhonians]] and the [[Academic Skepticism|Academics]]".<ref>Mauro Bonazzi, "[https://www.academia.edu/2362682/Plutarch_on_the_Difference_between_Academics_and_Pyrrhonists_in_Oxford_Studies_in_Ancient_Philosophy_43_2012_pp._271-298 Plutarch on the Differences Between the Pyrrhonists and Academics]", Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 2012.</ref>