The Life of a Greco-Roman Sage

Plutarch (c. 46–120 CE) was born into an educated family in Chaeronea, a small town in Boeotia, Greece. His father, Aristobulus, was a noted biographer and philosopher, ensuring young Plutarch grew up surrounded by books and intellectual discourse. He studied in Athens under the philosopher Ammonius, mastering mathematics, rhetoric, history, and medicine. His travels took him across Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Italy, shaping his cosmopolitan worldview.

Living through three Roman dynasties—the Julio-Claudians, Flavians, and Antonines—Plutarch witnessed the full integration of Greek and Roman cultures. He lectured in Rome, where he befriended elites and even tutored emperors Trajan and Hadrian. Trajan honored him with consular rank, while Hadrian appointed him as procurator of Greece. Despite these imperial connections, Plutarch spent most of his life in Chaeronea, teaching philosophy, writing, and serving in local government.

The Pillars of Plutarch’s Legacy: Moralia and Parallel Lives

Plutarch was astonishingly prolific. His son Lamprias cataloged 227 works, though only 116 survive today. These are divided into two collections:

### Moralia: Ethics for a Flourishing Life

This eclectic compilation of 66 essays explores ethics, religion, politics, and education. Key works like On the Education of Children and On Virtue and Vice blend Platonic, Aristotelian, and Stoic thought, emphasizing moral self-improvement. Unlike dry philosophical treatises, Moralia offers practical wisdom—how to choose friends, resist flattery, and balance ambition with humility.

### Parallel Lives: Greece and Rome in Dialogue

Plutarch’s magnum opus, Parallel Lives, pairs 46 Greek and Roman figures—Alexander with Caesar, Demosthenes with Cicero—to compare their virtues and flaws. Only four biographies stand alone; the rest are “parallel” studies designed to highlight shared ideals across cultures. His vivid prose resurrects these figures as living, breathing individuals. When he describes Antony’s infatuation with Cleopatra or Cato’s stubborn integrity, history feels immediate and human.

Why Plutarch Still Matters

### Shaping Renaissance Humanism

During the Renaissance, thinkers like Montaigne and Shakespeare devoured Parallel Lives. Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra borrow directly from Plutarch’s dramas of power and morality. His emphasis on character over dry chronology made history a mirror for self-reflection.

### The Birth of Modern Biography

Before Plutarch, ancient biographies were either hagiographies or political propaganda. He pioneered the psychological portrait, probing how personal virtues—or vices—shaped destinies. Modern biographers, from Boswell to Robert Caro, follow his model of blending narrative flair with moral inquiry.

### A Bridge Between Worlds

In an era of cultural fusion, Plutarch’s work reassured Romans that Greek wisdom complemented their military might. Today, his insistence on dialogue—between nations, disciplines, and ethical systems—resonates in our globalized age.

The Entertainers of Ancient Rome

While Plutarch chronicled emperors, Rome’s theaters thrived with music and dance. Though he rarely wrote about performers, these artists—flutists, lyre-players, and chorus members—brought his subjects’ stories to life onstage. Imagine the soundtrack to Parallel Lives: triumphant marches for Caesar’s victories, mournful dirges for Phocion’s execution. Music, like biography, made history unforgettable.

### Final Thought: The Timelessness of Character

Plutarch’s genius lies in his belief that studying great lives cultivates our own moral imagination. Whether describing a general’s courage or a philosopher’s integrity, he reminds us that history’s deepest lessons are about who we aspire to be.