PLUTARCH
WHO IS HE?
o Greek living in a Roman World (46 BC - 120 AD)
o Biographer NOT Historian
- believed character was more important than accomplishments
o Pontifex (not that important)
CONTEXT OF WRITINGS?
o Wrote biographies of famous Greeks and Romans (compared Roman to Greek counterpart)
o Not a fan of the Julio-Claudian Emperors (bias)
o Removed from the action (theoretically objective)
PURPOSE OF WRITINGS?
o Evaluated personality opposed to historical achievements
o Based his comparison upon similar virtues & vices
WHAT WAS HIS ORIGINAL AUDIENCE?
o Educated Elite
- aristocratic / optimate bias
- known and admired by some Emperors
RELIABLE?
GREECE:
o Variety of source material
ROME:
o Access to various records (Senatorial / Imperial / Earlier Historians / Cicero's Letters)
o Easier to understand the complex nature of the Roman political system
GENERAL:
o Rounded portraits of the people he wrote about
o Theoretically objective - removed from events
o Acknowledged the multi-face nature of human characteristics
UNRELIABLE?
GREECE:
o Extreme Hellenistic outlook
- No discussion of Persia or Persians
o Uses poetry & propaganda without analysis
o Writing extremely late
ROME:
o Aristocratic bias
o Portrait of Pompey at odds with other historians
o Blames Julius Caesar for the downfall of the Republic & accused him of having an agenda
GENERAL:
o Biography NOT History
- anecdotal
- focus on individual careers (empire | social / economic)
- simple & mixed chronology at times
o Opinion over Fact
Specified Sources:
o Life of Lycurgus (6-9 |12-14 | 24-26 | 28)
o Life of Cicero (9-23)
o Life of Caesar (13-14)
o Life of Pompey (47)
Other Useful Sources:
~ to be added in at a later date ~
WHO IS HE?
o Greek living in a Roman World (46 BC - 120 AD)
o Biographer NOT Historian
- believed character was more important than accomplishments
o Pontifex (not that important)
CONTEXT OF WRITINGS?
o Wrote biographies of famous Greeks and Romans (compared Roman to Greek counterpart)
o Not a fan of the Julio-Claudian Emperors (bias)
o Removed from the action (theoretically objective)
PURPOSE OF WRITINGS?
o Evaluated personality opposed to historical achievements
o Based his comparison upon similar virtues & vices
WHAT WAS HIS ORIGINAL AUDIENCE?
o Educated Elite
- aristocratic / optimate bias
- known and admired by some Emperors
RELIABLE?
GREECE:
o Variety of source material
ROME:
o Access to various records (Senatorial / Imperial / Earlier Historians / Cicero's Letters)
o Easier to understand the complex nature of the Roman political system
GENERAL:
o Rounded portraits of the people he wrote about
o Theoretically objective - removed from events
o Acknowledged the multi-face nature of human characteristics
UNRELIABLE?
GREECE:
o Extreme Hellenistic outlook
- No discussion of Persia or Persians
o Uses poetry & propaganda without analysis
o Writing extremely late
ROME:
o Aristocratic bias
o Portrait of Pompey at odds with other historians
o Blames Julius Caesar for the downfall of the Republic & accused him of having an agenda
GENERAL:
o Biography NOT History
- anecdotal
- focus on individual careers (empire | social / economic)
- simple & mixed chronology at times
o Opinion over Fact
Specified Sources:
o Life of Lycurgus (6-9 |12-14 | 24-26 | 28)
o Life of Cicero (9-23)
o Life of Caesar (13-14)
o Life of Pompey (47)
Other Useful Sources:
~ to be added in at a later date ~
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