Plutarch: Great Men and their Character

Emily Pedrick

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Plutarch's thesis was that the character of men changes history. That great men had an impact on their society; whether this impact be for good or for evil. Great does not always mean good. For example, Hitler is considered a "great" man because he changed history, even though he was most certainly not a good man. It was the great men that changed history.

Plutarch's Life

Plutarch was born in what is believed to be 46, into a wealthy family in Chaeronea. Because of his wealth, he was able to study philosophy and mathematics, and was chosen to represent his town on multiple occasions. Because of this he traveled a lot. In the first twenty years of the second century, Plutarch was believed to have written between 200 and 300 titles, which brought him fame. Plutarch is believed to have died in 122.

Parallel Lives

Plutarch wrote a series of biographies where he compared famous greeks and famous romans in essays. An example of this is when he compared Alexander to Julius Caesar. Plutarch would not give an in depth analysis of thing, but instead he would give anecdotes. The life of Alexander is more like a collection of short stories about virtues and wicked behavior, and a theme that he brought civilization to barbarians. One of his quotes about how he writes his biographies was translated by E.L. Bowie and states:

''It is not histories I am writing, but lives; and in the most glorious deeds there is not always an indication of virtue of vice, indeed a small thing like a phrase or a jest often makes a greater revelation of a character than battles where thousands die"

This quote summarizes that Plutarch's moral judgement was greater and more important than his historical judgement.