• A Companion to Plutarch
  • Editor: Mark Beck  
  • Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
  • Publication Date: January 28, 2014
  • Type: Hardcover
  • Print Length: 648 Pages
  • Product Description

A Companion to Plutarch offers a broad survey of the famous historian and biographer; a coherent, comprehensive, and elegant presentation of Plutarch’s thought and influence

  • Constitutes the first survey of its kind, a unified and accessible guide that offers a comprehensive discussion of all major aspects of Plutarch’s oeuvre
  • Provides essential background information on Plutarch’s world, including his own circle of influential friends (Greek and Roman), his travels, his political activity, and his relations with Trajan and other emperors
  • Offers contextualizing background, the literary and cultural details that shed light on some of the fundamental aspects of Plutarch’s thought
  • Surveys the ideologically crucial reception of the Greek Classical Period in Plutarch’s writings
  • Follows the currents of recent serious scholarship, discussing perennial interests, and delving into topics and works not formerly given serious attention

Representing an extensive original survey of the ancient world’s preeminent biographer and historian by leading scholars from around the world, this companion gives readers a clear and concise overview of all major topics of study and a single comprehensive synthesis of Plutarch’s massive and diverse oeuvre.

Editor Mark Beck first outlines the history of research on Plutarch and discusses contemporary approaches to the study of the author. The first section gives rich historical, political and cultural background information about life in the Imperial period, and the intellectual currents of the day, which contextualize Plutarch’s thought. The main section focuses on his various biographical projects and other major contributions, including Moralia and his magnum opus the Parallel Lives. Finally, the book investigates Plutarch’s reception from antiquity to the modern period, including his influence in France, and in England on Shakespeare.

A Companion to Plutarch offers a broad survey of the famous historian and biographer, for a coherent, comprehensive, and elegant presentation of Plutarch’s thought and influence.

  • About the Editor

Mark Beck is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches courses on Greek and Roman authors and classical civilization courses. He has published numerous articles and chapters on Plutarch and is the author of the forthcoming book, Understanding Classics: Plutarch (2012).

  • Reviews

“In sum, this handsomely produced companion provides a snapshot of current research on Plutarch, while also lighting the way for new directions of inquiry about one of our most important sources on the ancient Mediterranean.” Religious Studies Review, 1 September 2015

“As a collection of essays on Plutarch the philosopher, moralist, biographer, and human being, Beck’s Companion offers a well-rounded, enjoyable, and state-of-the-art introduction.” New England Classical Journal, 1 May 2015

“This book studies him in his broader contemporary and later contexts and will be invaluable to anyone, student or specialist, investigating the culture of Plutarch’s times as well, of course, as the subject himself.” Reference Reviews, 1 December 2014

“All in all, Beck’s Companion to Plutarch has now become the major reference work for scholars and students of Plutarch, as well as for a wider class of readers (specialists and non-specialists alike) who want to enter the charming world of the Chaeronean philosopher.” Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 1 September 2014