Plutarch

Plutarch (c.46-c.120 CE) was a Greek Historian, Philosopher and Priest who was one of the most influential thinkers of the Roman Empire.
His noted Work is Parallel Lives where he compared the characters and achievements of one famous Greek with one famous Roman.

Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy at the Academy of Athens.
When he received Roman Citizenship he changed his name to Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus.
Plutarch was a magistrate at Chaeronea and represented his town abroad as ambassador in his early life. One ninth century historian claims Plutarch was appointed Procurator for Achaea by Hadrian.

For his last 30 years, Plutarch was one of the two Priests at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and he was a friend of the Pythea, Priestess of the Oracle. He discusses why she did not give oracles in verse in ‘Moralia’ 11. He also discussed the possible meanings of the Letter E at Delphi.
Plutarch spent his whole life living near Chaeronea and his home was only twenty miles from the Sanctuary of Delphi.

He became famous throughout the Roman Empire for his Works. In Parallel Lives, Plutarch contrasts one illustrious Greek with one illustrious Roman, and compares their achievements and character. Moralia is a collection of discourses, speeches and philosophical writings.
Plutarch was a Platonist. He criticised Stoicism, was open to the Peripatetics, but rejected Epicureanism. But Plutarch was more interested in solutions to questions of a moral or religious nature, rather than of solutions to questions of a theoretical nature.

Parallel Lives
- one of the most notable being his parallel between the Life of Alexander the Great and the Life of Julius Caesar.
‘Lives of the Roman Emperors’
- from Augustus to Vitellius.
‘Moralia’.
- The Letter E at Delphi
- ‘De Iside et Osiride’: This is a Translation of the Pyramid Texts by Plutarch.

Plutarch was one of the two Priests at Delphi, Greece, and a friend of Clea the Pythea.
Plutarch describes three Greek phrases carved into the entrance to the Temple of Apollo:
1. ‘Know Thyself’
2. ‘Nothing in excess’
3. ‘Make a pledge, and mischief is nigh’
In addition to these three maxims, there are around one hundred Delphic maxims that have survived through various ancient sources. Their origin was attributed to the Seven Sages of Greece during the Classical Period.

Plutarch also describes another enigmatic inscription in the Temple: a large Letter E, and gave seven explanations as to the meaning of the Letter E.
- One of these explanations is that there were seven vowels in the Greek Alphabet. Each vowel represented the Seven Classical Planets, and E represented the second Planet after the Moon, which was the Sun, represented by Apollo.
The ancient Greeks themselves did not understand its significance, and puzzled over its meaning. Although there is no obvious explanation, the Greek letter E for Epsilon represents the number five, which may also have been significant.

Plutarch, also writing in the first century CE, relates a story of Mark Anthony trying to impress Cleopatra, with his ability to catch fish. As they were dining on their barge, he arranged for hidden swimmers to secretly attach fish to the lines.
Unfortunately, the swimmers ran out of fresh river fish and attached dead sea fish instead. Cleopatra soon realised what was going on, and advised Mark Anthony to give up the game of fishing. His game, she told him, was the game of Cities, Provinces and Kingdoms.

“Courage stands halfway between cowardice and rashness, one of which is a lack of, the other an excess of courage.”
“Know how to listen, and you will learn even from those who talk badly.”
Pyrrhic victory.
“Silence at the proper time is wisdom, and better than any speech.”
The skeleton at the feast
“To find fault is easy, to do better may be harder.
“To make no mistakes is not in the power of man, but from their mistakes do the wise learn wisdom for the future”.

Temple of Apollo at Delphi