The Passionate Statesman: Erõs and Politics in Plutarch's Lives
Jeffrey Beneker
Abstract
This book explores the intersection of passion and politics in Plutarch's Lives, with special emphasis on how Plutarch represents the influence of erōs (erotic desire) on the careers of his biographical subjects. The book first explains how Plutarch combines Aristotle's notion of friendship with Plato's conception of the soul to describe the ideal marriage, and heterosexual relationships in general, as based on a mutual love of character (philia) supported by an enduring erotic attraction. Then it examines how Plutarch applied his system of moral virtue to his reading of history in order to cr ... More
This book explores the intersection of passion and politics in Plutarch's Lives, with special emphasis on how Plutarch represents the influence of erōs (erotic desire) on the careers of his biographical subjects. The book first explains how Plutarch combines Aristotle's notion of friendship with Plato's conception of the soul to describe the ideal marriage, and heterosexual relationships in general, as based on a mutual love of character (philia) supported by an enduring erotic attraction. Then it examines how Plutarch applied his system of moral virtue to his reading of history in order to create historical-ethical reconstructions of past events. In a reading of the Alexander–Caesar, the book argues that Plutarch draws upon Xenophon's Cyropaedia to depict Alexander as a king who exhibits self-restraint in response to basic appetites, especially erotic desire, and that Plutarch applies the same model to Caesar, despite his reputation for sexual extravagance. In the Demetrius–Antony, Plutarch demonstrates the same principle from the opposite perspective, representing both men as unwilling or unable to exercise self-restraint. In the case of Antony, erōs is the primary cause of his political failure and his death. Plutarch's approach to the Agesilaus–Pompey defines a middle ground between absolute self-restraint and erotic license, exploring how the heroes allowed erotic involvement in their personal lives to influence their public actions. The book connects Plutarch's political thought to precedents from Classical authors to show how he uses the narration of his subjects' private erotic affairs to explain their success and failure in war and politics.
Keywords:
erōs,
philia,
moral virtue,
Plato,
Aristotle,
Xenophon,
Alexander,
Caesar,
Antony,
Pompey
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2012 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199695904 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2012 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199695904.001.0001 |
