The Plutarch Podcast

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So how do Coriolanus and Alcibiades actually compare? One seems like an angry fireball of revenge, the other a self-serving but talented chameleon. Coriolanus couldn't care less about his reputation, but wants the excellence that lives up to his own standard. Alcibiades can accept anyone's standards of behavior... as long as there is something in it for him. How do these two very different men stand in their similarities and differences? What can we learn for ourselves and apply to our own lives if we ever interact with someone like Alcibiades or Coriolanus. 

First we'll hear from Plutarch himself, and then Tom will give his perspective with some helpful ways to grow in virtue, particularly key in this life is the ability to know when to lead and when to follow. 

Re-listen to the original lives for a refresher: 

• Coriolanus
• Alcibiades

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https://plutarch.life/coriolanus

Greek Parallel - Alcibiades

Important People

Volumnia - Coriolanus’s mother and, because his father died young, the woman on whom Coriolanus will pour all his filial piety.

Tullus Aufidius - The leader of the Volscians against the Romans. When Coriolanus switches sides, it is Tullus who is eclipsed.

The Senate - Yes, the Senate acts as a character in this Life, so much so that they represent those with all the power and control, even though they don’t do all the fighting. Coriolanus represents their interests primarily, even over Rome’s. 

The People or Plebs - Also a character seen as a body, with no one to represent them. They fight and die in Rome’s wars but often do not see the political fruits of their sacrifices. As such, they secede from Rome and refuse to fight in wars the Senate votes for. This enrages Coriolanus and is one of the major turning points in his life.

Important Places

Corioli - The town which Marcius takes nearly single-handedly after a risky choice, earning him the agnomen Coriolanus.

Rome - Really just a city-state at this time. As a young Republic, the people are probably more sensitive to attitudes of hubris and condescension in their leaders. Coriolanus will be put on trial for tyranny, though the charges morph as the trial progresses. 

The Sacred Mount - The plebes are many generations away from full political involvement in this fledgling Republic. As such, they have to force the patricians to notice them. One tactic available to them is secession, and they flee to the Sacred Mount to show the Roman Senators that they will not just be dictated to about what wars they will and will not fight in. They demand justice and the sacred mount shows how closely woven were military, religious, and political interests of the Roman people. 

Key Virtues and Vices

Gravity - ἐμβριθής - We might call this virtue steadiness since it implies the ability to see a task through even as everyone around you changes his mind or runs around like an electrocuted chicken. Coriolanus is too reactionary, and gravity allows a leader to stick with the good plan even in the moments when everyone else thinks its a bad one.

Mildness - πραότης - This virtue, coupled with the previous one, were what Plutarch (and Thucydides for that matter) admired so much about Pericles.

Anger - ὀργή - What seems more to us like an emotion, and Plutarch, when pressed would call a passion (παθή) he often treats as a vice, particularly in this Life. One interesting thing to note, though, is that the words for anger and indignation are used more often in the English translations where the Greek has a word with much greater semantic range: θυμός - listen to the podcast to find out more about this fascinating word.

Ambition - φιλοτιμία - Plutarch examines this from many angles, but Coriolanus’s appetite for glory is unquenchable. It also seems only to be tempered by his love for his mother… almost.

Love of Strife - In Greek, the difference between the love of victory (φιλονικία) and the love of strife (φιλονεικία) is one letter, an epsilon. That slippery little letter has caused a lot of strife among Plutarch scholars, but I think we can safely say here that Coriolanus had a love of strife that sat deeper in his soul than a love of victory, particularly when he disregards Rome’s victories as he fought for them and chooses to fight for her defeat.

Justice (δικαιοσύνη) - When the Senate and People disagree, Rome is brought to a standstill. When Coriolanus thinks he receives less than he deserves, he storms off to fight for someone who will appreciate him.

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plutarch.life/pyrrhus

Pyrrhus, tempted to fight in the old Homeric style of one on one, strikes me as a man born in the wrong era. With the rise of the Macedonian phalanx, his tactical brilliance sees some success but his personal appetite for risk and voracious craving for the next adventure over the horizon cause him to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory too many times in his life. 

From Fabricius to Sparta to Argos, Pyrrhus seems to learn prudence, but only learns that even the Spartans can defend their homeland with everything they've got. 

How can we learn from Pyrrhus and not earn victories so costly that we end in defeat?

Also, Pyrrhus's end in Argos...

How to read a metaphor (or an omen!). 

And so much more...

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Roman Parallel - Marius (157-86 BC)

Important People

• Demetrius (337-283) - Neighbor and even, for a time, brother-in-law. Son of Antigonus I and father of Antigonus II, Demetrius rules in Greece, Macedon (for seven years), Asia Minor but was ultimately conquered by Seleucus and imprisoned until he died of his own drinking habit.
• Cassander (355-297) - Son of Antipater, who had served as regent of Macedon during Alexander’s campaigns and later served as regent after the death of Perdiccas, he did not inherit the Macedonian throne from his father but had to fight Polyperchon for it. He conquers Greece as well and, most infamously, ends the charade of the successors serving as satraps to a regent by killing the young Alexander IV and his mother and grandmother, Olympias.
• Ptolemy I Soter (367-282) - The stable successor to Alexander who carves out Egypt (305 BC) for himself and founds a dynasty that rules Egypt from the prosperous port of Alexandria until Julius Caesar’s arrival. Ptolemy also strategic in his dynastic alliances to stave off further wars.
• Cineas - Philosopher and orator, Cineas acts as a foil to Pyrrhus’s reckless moving from hope to hope. In the midpoint of this life, he attempts to help Pyrrhus think through why he should be driven from conquest to conquest and provides reflection on Pyrrhus’s accomplishments. Nevertheless, the philosopher accompanies him on all Pyrrhus’s expeditions.
• Fabricius - Our first direct encounters with Roman virtue. While not given his own biography, Fabricius looms large in contrast to Pyrrhus’s vices. Fabricius is stable, cautious, and dependable where Pyrrhus is reckless, overly optimistic, and flighty.

Important Places

• Epirus - Pyrrhus’s birthplace and kingdom by right, inheritance, and conquest.
• Macedon - Neighboring kingdom to Epirus. Pyrrhus manages to win it and lose it without a fight. 
• Rome - The new power in the Western Mediterranean, having risen even more recently than Carthage, now threatens the entire Italian peninsula, including the Greek-speaking colonies in the south. 
• Tarentum - The colony that asks Pyrrhus for help, and then quickly comes to regret asking. 
• Beneventum - The battle in which the Romans manage, not exactly to beat Pyrrhus, but to convince him that Italy won't be worth the fight. 

Key Vices and Virtues

• Excessive Appetite for Conquest (πλεονεξία) - Not a vice in the Aristotelian canon, but one important to historians like Thucydides, who saw it as the root of the Athenian downfall. This Life becomes a meditation on knowign one’s political limits and serving in the capacity one has been placed. The philosopher Cineas provides some of this perspective for us without being too heavy-handed.
• Justice - Once again ignored by most of Alexander’s successors, we do se key aspects of it lived up to by the Romans. It is called the virtue of kings in this life and one philosopher observes that the Roman Senate strikes him as “An Assembly of Kings.” When Justice and Power are joined, Plutarch sees not only a properous state nor even just a stable situation, but a good government promoting virtue in its people. This life sets us up so well to enter into the Roman story, because Plutarch wants to remind even the Romans of their past virtues and encourage them to live up to those old virtues in the height of their power.

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/demetrius

Roman Parallel: Mark Antony (83-30 BC)

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

Key Vices and Virtues

• Luxury or Softness (τρυφή) - At first, Demetrius seems to have control over this vice, but it turns out that it’s a symptom of a larger lack of self-control. Even when he can rein in his appetites for food and sex, he never fully conquers his appetite for conquest. As such, he over-reaches and finds himself captive.
• Justice - As usual for Plutarch, he wants these men to wield their power justly. In general, the Successors of Alexander are corrupted by their over-riding vice and find themselves unable to rule well, though they still treat their fellow Macedonian generals with respect and concern.

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/phocion

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

Roman Parallel - Cato the Younger (95–46 BC)

Phocion was three years old when Socrates died in 399 and then lives through the reigns of Philip, Alexander, and dies under Cassander's takeover of Athens. Though less well-known than his contemporary, Demosthenes, Plutarch wants us to remember him as a political leader who did the best he could with a bad situation. 

Key Vices and Virtues

• Bravery (ἀνδρεῖος) - Phocion tempers it with caution, but leads in person up to and past the age of 80!
• Justice (δικαιοσύνη) - Phocion's realism that Athens does not have the power to resist the Macedonians makes him a great, if still ignored, advocate for justice. He wants to preserve the peace and harmony of the city, while receiving as fair a deal as he can for Athens, which will be conquered by an army four times in his life. 
• Moderation (σωφροσύνη) - Sometimes also translated as “prudence,” this is not only the virtue that keeps Phocion from accepting any bribes, but also the virtue he tries to give to the Athenian people in their erratic behavior to their Macedonian overlords. His wife also practices this virtue, but his son never learns it from either parent (cf. Plato's Meno which examines whether or not virtue can be taught and looks at famous leaders whose sons did not have the same virtues as their fathers). 
• Austerity (αὐστηρόν) - Not one of Aristotle's virtues, but one Plutarch takes pains to highlight. Whether it's walking barefoot, wearing fewer clothes than necessary, or controlling even things like laughter and crying, Phocion struck everyone as toughest first on himself, and then only secondarily hard on others. 
• Simplicity (ἀφελείᾳ) - While the ancient Greeks (and Romans) never considered poverty a virtue as the Christians later did, there was a respect for the simplicity of knowing your limits. This knowledge of what is necessary for life makes Phocion (and his wife, see section 19) reliable and incorruptible. 

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/eumenes

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

Key Virtues and Vices

• Bravery (ἀνδρεῖος) - Eumenes, in spite of being the head secretary, is no pencil pusher. Plutarch wants to emphasize this even from the beginning. His education in and prowess in wrestling impress Philip equally as much as his intelligence. Both become an asset to Philip and then Alexander. On top of that, he's able to defeat many of Alexander's most competent generals in battle and gain a reputation among the Macedonians as a bold leader.
• Justice (δικαιοσύνη) - Eumenes, of all the successors, seems most motivated to keep the dynastic succession in order and rule Alexander’s new domains along the lines the Persian leaders had set up before. In other words, he considers it just to step into his role as satrap and leave it at that. As the other kings become greedier and more prideful, Eumenes serves the interests of the regent and, as he sees it, the rightful kings on the throne. He even tells Antigonus that he values his life less than the trust people have placed in him. He is just and willing to put his life on the line for it. How’s that for skin in the game?
• Wisdom (σοφία) - As much wiliness in this life as wisdom, Eumenes has the ability to convince those hostile to him to listen, to ourmaneuver even talented generals, and to inspire confidence through competence. He’s also smart enough to recognize all his enemies and finds ways to profit from his enemies: somethine Plutarch would be proud of, since he wrote a whole essay on the topic in the Moralia.
• Arrogance (ἀλαζονεία) - Categorized by Aristotle as the excess beyond honesty, this vice is rooted in a form or self-deception: seeing yourself as greater than you are. Other definitions include pretension and imposture. Plutarch points out the successors of Alexander suffer under this vice, unaware of their limitations and unwilling to accept that none of them measure up to Alexander.

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/alexander

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

Key Virtues and Vices

Generosity (μεγαλόδωρος) - When his wealth becomes nearly infinite his generosity keeps pace with it. Many examples given of Alexander’s largesse as he builds his empire. 

Justice (δική) - When founding and running a empire this big, justice has to be a key concern. Alexander tries to balance respect for the current Persian customs as he finds them and the Hellenization of the Persian peoples. While he doesn’t walk that line as well as he could have, many of his Macedonians treat the Persians far worse and Alexander is often left picking up the pieces. 

Friendship (φιλία)- Plutarch, like Aristotle, sees philosophy as the foundation of a life of powerful and lasting friendships. Alexander lives this virtue in many ways but, when he falls short, he fails in impressive ways (cf. Clitus the Black). 

Ambition (φιλοτιμία) - This one cuts both ways. Aristotle uses the same word to describe the virtue as he does to describe its excess (what we still today call “overly-ambitious”). Alexander’s ambition means the only things that slow him down or change his course are mutiny or death. 

Important Places 

Thebes - Not just in Plutarch’s backyard, but the city punished for revolting after Philip’s death. It is burned to the ground and 30,000 of its inhabitant are sold into slavery. Plutarch thinks this must anger the god Dionysius, who was born close to Thebes. 

The Battle of Granicus River - Alexander's first battle against the Persian army. Is he reckless or bold? Do we judge him by the consequences?

Battle of Issus - Alexander's second major battle against the Persian host, and the first in which Darius is present. Darius flees and Alexander chose better terrain than he realized. 

The Siege of Tyre - This strategic city gives Alexander an excuse to take care of the Persian Navy so that his supply lines are not disrupted as he traverses into the heart of the Persian Empire. 

Alexandria - Alexander, under the guidance of Homer, founds a city at the mouth of the Nile that will prosper for the next thousand years. Acting as the Greek and Roman capital of Egypt, Alexandria is still the second-most populous city in Egypt after Cairo today. 

The Battle of Gaugamela - The last decisive battle to put Darius on the run. Alexander claims that Greece has been avenged and uses the title King of Persia after this. 

The Battle of Hydapses - Moving beyond the frontiers of the Persian Empire, Alexander crosses the Indus River and defeats King Poros, only to return his kingdom to him because of respect for a worthy enemy. Shortly after this his men mutiny and Alexander must turn back home. 

Babylon - Before he makes it home, the whole army has a prolonged victory feast in Babylon. Perhaps complications from drinking cause Alexander to fall into a fever from which he does not recover and he dies in Babylon at the age of 33, having conquered the Greeks and the Persian Empire. What if he'd managed to conquer himself? How far does Plutarch think he could have gone? 

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/alexander

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

     
Important People

-Bucephalus - Yes, a horse is an important character! Fiery, hard-working, and lasting till the edge of Alexander's empire, Bucephalus (ox-head) provides an analogue for us to see a fiery temperament tamed.
-Philip - Alexander’s ambitious father and the succesful military reformer who almost led an expedition against Persia himself. His untimely assassination makes that task fall to Alexander.
-Olympias - An ambitious and scheming mother, Olympias always pushes Alexander to do more and work harder. While at home, she frequently conflicts with Antipater, the regent Alexander left in charge of Macedonia in his decade-long absence.
-Darius III - The last Achaemenid emperor of Persia flees from Alexander twice but, overall, is treated well by his enemy. He didn’t choose his successor, but ultimatley respects the man who sits on the throne of Cyrus after his death.
-Poros - One of the last king-generals that Alexander defeats before turning around to head back home. Poros lives on the far side of the Indus River and earns Alexander’s respect in a hard-fought battle. Alexander keeps him in his current position and adds lands to his after defeating him.
-Aristotle - One of the greatest philosophers who ever lived worked as the personal tutor to Alexander the Great for at least two years. The two men continue to correspond later in life but some versions of the story have their relationship cool significantly after Alexander executes his grand-nephew, Callisthenes (cf. sections 53-55)
-Philotas - A contemporary of Alexander rising in the ranks under his father, Parmenio. Both experienced leaders who served under Philip and Alexander, Philotas’s pride finds him implicated in a conspiracy and Alexander kills him and his father.
-Clitus (Cleitus) - A member of Alexander’s companion cavalry who saves his life at The Battle of Granicus River. When he later tries to publicly correct Alexander for adopting too many Persian customs, the fight leads to his tragic death, which Alexander struggles to recover from. 
-Callisthenes - Grand-nephew of Aristotle accompanying Alexander on the Persian Expedition. He acts as a proxy for Alexander's relationship with the ethical and political lessons Alexander had learned from Aristotle. When he dies (some reports say by Alexander's order, others do not), it seems Alexander lost his last link with his childhood education.

Important Places

-Thebes - Not just in Plutarch’s backyard, but the city punished for revolting after Philip’s death. It is burned to the ground and 30,000 of its inhabitant are sold into slavery. Plutarch thinks this must anger the god Dionysius, who was born close to Thebes.
-The Battle of Granicus River
-Battle of Issus
-The Siege of Tyre
-Alexandria
-The Battle of Gaugamela
-The Battle of Hydapses


Key Virtues and Vices

-Generosity
-Justice 
-Friendship   
-Ambition (φιλοτιμία)

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Full Show Notes Available at https://plutarch.life/timoleon

Season 4 is brought to you by Hackett Publishing - Use the coupon code PLUTARCH for 20% off and free shipping at hackettpublishing.com

Important People

Timophanes - Timoleon’s brother and the first tyrant we meet in this story. His name, rather fittingly, means "seems honorable."

Dionysius II - The tyrant whom Dion overthrew, but did not execute. He returns to power after Dion’s death only to be replaced by Hicetas.

Hicetas - The tyrant who replaces Dionysius II, who had allied with the Carthaginians to gain power. Starting out allied with the Corinthians, he becomes Timoleon’s main enemy in the fight to free Syracuse.

Mago - Carthaginian general allied with Hicetas and leading a formidable navy. He’s the first Carthaginian general to “capture” Syracuse, though it’s Hicetas who hands the city over. 

Plato - Though dead by the time Timoleon comes to power, he haunts this dialogue both in its analysis of tyranny and its understanding of justice.

Key Virtues and Vices

Justice (δίκη - dikē) - Plutarch argues (30.9) that Justice preserved Timoleon’s good fortune. With this in mind, it’s helpful to remember that Dion didn’t have the same good fortune, though he seems to have deserved it. Perhaps he stepped off the road of Justice and Plutarch allows us to decide where and when. Timoleon also puts justice and honor over convenience (5.1), his brother acts without justice (4.5) when he becomes tyrant, and Timoleon not only acts justly (5.1; 10.7; 29.6), but physically restores the courts of justice (22.3) to the democracy of Syracuse that before had to rely on the whims of the tyrant. 

Gentleness (πραότης - praotēs) - Though not mentioned often, it's important for us to remember that this is a virtue listed explicitly in Aristotle's Ethics and one that Plutarch takes great interest in for his characters. Timoleon is introduced to us as gentle (3.4), but not with tyrants and base men. We're also told at the end that he dealt gently and justly with friends (37.5), but boldly and powerfully against barbarians (i.e. Carthaginians in this case). See Plutarch's "On the Moderation of Anger" or Aristotle's Ethics Book 4, Ch. 5 (1125b35) for a more thorough discussion of this virtue and its most obvious excess: anger. 

Wisdom (φρονήσις - phronēsis) - Especially on the heels of Dion’s life, Timoleon just strikes us as lucky. Yet, Plutarch primes us in the preface (0.8) to read with an eye for his wise choices and not to judge every decision by its (usually positive) outcome. Plato's wisdom even helps men like Dionysius (15.4)

External Links

• Ambleside Online's Study Guide for Timoleon
• Herman Melville's Poem Timoleon, of which I read the eighth and final stanza in the podcast
• English Translation of Plutarch's Life of Timoleon 
• Greek and English of Plutarch's Life of Timoleon (Perseus)
• Art of Manliness Podcast about Plato Trying to Convince Glaucon not to Grow into a Tyrant in the Republic

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