Comparative biographies. Plutarch - biography, information, personal life Plutarch years of life

Plutarch of Chaeronea (ancient Greek Πλούταρχος) (c. 45 - c. 127). Ancient Greek philosopher, biographer, moralist.

Plutarch came from a wealthy family who lived in the small town of Chaeronea in Boeotia (known from the famous battle of 338 BC).

In his youth in Athens, Plutarch studied mathematics, rhetoric and philosophy, the latter mainly under the Platonist Ammonius. In the future, the Peripatetics and Stoics had a significant influence on the philosophical views of Plutarch. He himself considered himself a Platonist, but in fact he was more of an eclecticist, and in philosophy he was mainly interested in its practical application. Even in his youth, Plutarch, together with his brother Lamprey and teacher Ammonius, visited Delphi, where the cult of Apollo, which had fallen into decay, was still preserved. This journey had a serious impact on the life and literary work of Plutarch.

Shortly after returning from Athens to Chaeronea, Plutarch received some commission from the city community to the Roman proconsul of the province of Achaia and successfully carried it out. In the future, he faithfully served his city, holding public positions. Teaching his own sons, Plutarch gathered young people in his house and created a kind of private academy, in which he played the role of mentor and lecturer.

Plutarch was well known to his contemporaries both as a public figure and as a philosopher. He repeatedly visited Rome and other places in Italy, had students with whom he taught in Greek (he began to study Latin only “in his declining years”).

In Rome, Plutarch met with the neo-Pythagoreans, and also struck up friendships with many prominent people. Among them were Arulen Rusticus, Lucius Mestrius Florus (companion of Emperor Vespasian), Quintus Sosius Senecion (personal friend of Emperor Trajan). Roman friends rendered the most valuable services to Plutarch. Having become purely formally a member of the Mestrian family (in accordance with Roman legal practice), Plutarch received Roman citizenship and a new name - Mestrius Plutarch. Thanks to Senekion, he became the most influential person in his province: Emperor Trajan forbade the governor of Achaia to hold any events without prior approval from Plutarch. Subsequently, this order of Trajan was confirmed by his successor Hadrian.

In the fiftieth year of his life, Plutarch became a priest of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. In trying to restore the sanctuary and the oracle to their former importance, he earned the deep respect of the Amphictyons, who erected a statue of him.

Plutarch was not an original writer. Basically, he collected and processed what other, more original writers and thinkers had written before him. But in the treatment of Plutarch, a whole tradition, marked by the sign of his personality, acquired a new look. It was in this form that it influenced European thought and literature for many centuries.

As can be seen from the catalog of a certain Lamprias, the alleged student of Plutarch, he left behind about 210 works. A significant part of them has safely reached our time. According to the tradition dating back to the publishers of the Renaissance, these works are divided into two main groups: philosophical and journalistic, known under the general name "Ἠθικά" or "Moralia", and biographical (biography).

In the Ethics we find about 80 writings. The earliest of these are those that are rhetorical, such as praises of Athens, discussions about Fortune (Greek Tyche) and her role in the life of Alexander the Great or in the history of Rome. A large group is also made up of popular philosophical treatises; of these, perhaps the most characteristic of Plutarch is the short essay On the State of the Spirit. Without going deep into theoretical reasoning, Plutarch often gives a lot of valuable information on the history of philosophy. Such are the works "Platonic Questions" and "On the Creation of the Soul in the Timaeus", as well as polemical works directed against the Epicureans and Stoics.

For educational purposes, other essays were conceived containing advice on how to act in order to be happy and overcome shortcomings (for example, “On excessive curiosity”, “On talkativeness”, “On excessive timidity”). For the same reasons, Plutarch dealt with issues of love and marriage. The compositions on the topics of family life also include consolation (that is, a consolatory essay after a grievous loss), addressed to Plutarch's wife Timoxene, who lost her only daughter. Plutarch's pedagogical interests are reflected in many of his works (“How a young man should listen to poets”, “How to use lectures”, etc.). Thematically, the political writings of Plutarch approach them, especially those that contain recommendations for rulers and statesmen.

Along with the most popular works in the dialogic form, the Ethics also included others - close in nature to a scientific report. So, for example, the essay “On the face on the lunar disk” presents various theories regarding this celestial body; at the end, Plutarch turns to the theory adopted in the Academy of Plato (Xenocrates), seeing in the moon the homeland of demons.

Plutarch also wrote about the human soul, was interested in psychology, the psychology of animals (“On the Intelligence of Animals”, “On Meat Eating”), and was an adherent of vegetarianism. Plutarch devoted numerous works to questions of religion, among them the so-called "Pythian" dialogues concerning the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. The most interesting in this group is the work "On Isis and Osiris", in which Plutarch, himself initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus, outlined the most diverse syncretic and allegorical interpretations of the mysteries of Osiris and ancient Egyptian mythology.

Plutarch's interest in antiquities is evidenced by two works: "Greek questions" (Aitia Hellenika; lat. Quaestiones Graecae) ​​and "Roman questions" (Aitia Romaika; lat. Quaestiones Romanae), which reveal the meaning and origin of various customs of the Greco-Roman world ( much space is devoted to questions of worship). Plutarch's predilection for anecdotes, which also manifested itself in his biographies, is reflected in the collection of Lacedaemon sayings (another collection of well-known sayings, "Apothegms of Kings and Generals", is most likely not authentic). A variety of topics are revealed in the form of a dialogue by such works as "The Feast of the Seven Wise Men" or "Conversations at the Feast" (in 9 books).

The Ethics of Plutarch also includes non-authentic works (by unknown authors, attributed to Plutarch in antiquity and widely known under his name). The most important of them are the treatises “On Music” (one of the main sources of our knowledge about ancient music in general) and “On the Education of Children” (a work translated into many languages ​​back in the Renaissance and considered authentic until the beginning of the 19th century).

A number of works previously attributed to Plutarch were written by unknown authors, for whom scientists now use the (conditional) name Pseudo-Plutarch.

Comparative biographies

Plutarch owes his enormous literary fame not to eclectic philosophical discourses and not even to writings on ethics, but to his biographies (which, however, are most directly related to ethics).

Plutarch outlines his goals in the introduction to the biography of Aemilius Paulus (Aemilius Paulus): communication with the great people of antiquity has educational functions, and if not all the heroes of biographies are attractive, then after all, a negative example also has value, it can have an intimidating effect and turn on the path righteous life. In his biographies, Plutarch follows the teachings of the Peripatetics, who in the field of ethics attributed decisive importance to human actions, arguing that every action gives rise to virtue.

Plutarch follows the scheme of peripatetic biographies, describing in turn the birth, youth, character, activity, death of the hero. Nowhere is Plutarch a historian critical of the facts. The huge historical material available to him is used very freely (“we write a biography, not a history”). First of all, Plutarch needs a psychological portrait of a person; in order to visually represent him, he willingly draws on information from the private life of the persons depicted, anecdotes and witty sayings. The text includes numerous moral arguments, various quotations from poets. This is how colorful, emotional narratives were born, the success of which was ensured by the author's talent for storytelling, his craving for everything human and moral optimism that elevates the soul. Biographies of Plutarch have for us a purely historical value, because he had many valuable sources, which were subsequently lost.

Plutarch began to write biographies in his youth. At first, he turned his attention to the famous people of Boeotia: Hesiod, Pindar, Epaminondas. Subsequently, he began to write about representatives of other regions of Greece: the Spartan king Leonidas, Aristomenes, Arata of Sicyon. There is even a biography of the Persian king Artaxerxes II. During his stay in Rome, Plutarch wrote biographies of Roman emperors intended for the Greeks. And only in the later period did he write his most important work, Comparative Biographies (Bioi paralleloi; lat. Vitae parallelae). These were biographies of prominent historical figures of Greece and Rome, compared in pairs. Currently, 22 couples and four single biographies of an earlier period are known (Arat of Sicyon, Artaxerxes II, Galba and Otho). Among the pairs, some are well composed: the mythical founders of Athens and Rome - Theseus and Romulus; the first legislators - Lycurgus Spartan and Numa Pompilius; the greatest commanders are Alexander the Great and Gaius Julius Caesar; the greatest orators are Cicero and Demosthenes. Others are compared more arbitrarily: "children of happiness" - Timoleon and Aemilius Paul, or a couple illustrating the vicissitudes of human destinies - Alcibiades and Coriolanus. After each pair, Plutarch apparently intended to give a comparative description (synkrisis), a brief indication of the common features and main differences between the characters. However, for several couples (in particular, for Alexander and Caesar), the juxtaposition is missing, that is, it has not been preserved (or, less likely, it has not been written). In the text of biographies there are cross-references, from which we learn that there were originally more of them than in the body of texts that has come down to us. Lost biographies of Leonidas, Epaminondas, Scipio Africanus).

The lack of historical criticism and the depth of political thought did not interfere, and still do not prevent Plutarch's biographies from finding numerous readers who are interested in their diverse and instructive content and highly appreciate the warm humane feeling of the author.

Plutarch began to be translated into Russian since the 18th century: See the translations of Stepan Pisarev, “Plutarch’s Instructions on childcare” (St. Petersburg, 1771) and “The Word of Unceasing Curiosity” (St. Iv. Alekseev, "The Moral and Philosophical Writings of Plutarch" (St. Petersburg, 1789); E. Sferina, "On Superstition" (St. Petersburg, 1807); S. Distunis and others. "Plutarch's comparative biographies" (St. Petersburg, 1810, 1814-16, 1817-21); "Biography of Plutarch" ed. V. Guerrier (M., 1862); biographies of Plutarch in a cheap edition by A. Suvorin (translated by V. Alekseev, vols. I-VII) and under the title "Life and deeds of famous people of antiquity" (M., 1889, I-II); "Conversation about the face visible on the disk of the moon" ("Phil. Review" vol. VI, book 2).

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the works written by the ancient sages, their discoveries and other heritage inherited by mankind since those times. Unfortunately, many works have not survived to this day, and this is a serious loss. However, it makes no sense to regret what cannot be changed; one should act based on the current situation. At least, the ancient Greek and Roman sages themselves claimed so, including Plutarch from Chaeronea.

Childhood and youth

Little is known about the childhood of the ancient Greek writer and philosopher. He was born in 46 AD. The boy's parents, although they were wealthy people, did not belong to aristocrats or other privileged classes. However, this fact did not prevent Plutarch and his brother Lamprius from reading books and getting a good education in Athens.

While studying philosophy, rhetoric and mathematics, Plutarch became friends with the teacher Ammonius, an adherent of the doctrine. This friendship led to the fact that at the end of his studies, Plutarch, along with his brother and teacher, went to Delphi.

The purpose of this trip was a personal acquaintance with the cult of Apollo, as well as the activities of oracles and Pythia. This event seriously influenced the young Plutarch, in subsequent years he recalled this more than once (including in his works).

Returning back to his hometown of Chaeronea, Plutarch entered the civil service, becoming an eponymous archon. The first task of the young archon was to report to the proconsul of the province of Achaia about the demands of the inhabitants of the city. Having successfully completed the assignment, Plutarch continued his work as a public figure.

Philosophy and literature

Plutarch always considered himself a follower of the teachings of Plato. Nevertheless, it would be more correct to attribute him to the eclecticists - adherents of the current, fully formed after the death of Plutarch by the Alexandrian philosopher Potamon.

Many factors influenced the formation of Plutarch's views, among which the Platonist Ammonius played a major role. However, it is worth noting that even during his studies, the future philosopher managed to make acquaintances with the peripatetics ( students) and with the Stoics. And if the followers of Aristotle seemed to him more or less convincing, then Plutarch seriously criticized the Stoics, as well as the Epicureans.

Also during one of his travels around the world, Plutarch managed to get acquainted with the Roman neo-Pythagoreans. The literary heritage of the philosopher is really extensive. According to the catalog compiled by the philosopher's brother Lamprey, Plutarch wrote about 210 works, most of which have survived to this day. Out of this mass, the researchers set aside the Comparative Biographies and the Moralia cycle, consisting of 78 works (plus another 5 with controversial authorship).

"Comparative Lives" are 22 paired biographies of the ancient Greeks and Romans, among which are the Spartan king Leonidas, as well as speakers and. Pairs were selected based on the similarity of characters and activities.

When describing life, the philosopher freely operated on facts, claiming that he was writing a biography, not a history. The main task of this work was to get acquainted with the great figures of the past and carried a purely educational character. By the way, in the original there were more pairs for comparison, but some have not been preserved.

The Moralia cycle also had an educational function, since the main part of the works included in it was written when Plutarch was a lecturer and mentor. The most striking examples include such works: “On excessive timidity”, “On talkativeness”, “On how to use lectures”, “On wisdom”, “On raising children”.

There were also works of a political nature - "Manual on state affairs" and "On the monarchy, democracy and oligarchy." Plutarch wrote them, having received citizenship and a public position in Rome (this happened thanks to his acquaintance with Quintus Sosius Senecion). When the persecution of scientists and philosophers began by the emperor Titus Flavius ​​Domitian, he returned back to Chaeronei, risking being executed for his statements.

Plutarch visited all the major cities of Greece (including Corinth), visited Sardis, Alexandria and a number of other cities. Based on his travels around the world, the philosopher wrote such works as "On Isis and Osiris", in which he outlined his point of view on understanding ancient Egyptian mythology, the two-volume "Greek Questions" and "Roman Questions".

These works dealt with the history of two influential states, two biographies of Alexander the Great (in addition to those included in the Comparative Biographies) - On the Glory of Alexander and On the Fortune and Valor of Alexander the Great, as well as a number of other works.

Plutarch outlined his philosophical views in the interpretation of the works of Plato (“Plato’s Questions”), in critical writings (“On the contradictions among the Stoics”, “On the fact that even a pleasant life is impossible if you follow Epicurus”), in the collection “Table Talks”, consisting of 9 books, as well as in Pythian dialogues (“On the fact that the Pythians no longer prophesy in verse”, “On the decline of the oracles”, “Let the deity tarry with retribution”).

Personal life

Plutarch loved his family, which he repeatedly mentioned in his works. He had 4 sons and a daughter, but the daughter and one of the sons died in infancy. In order to somehow reassure his wife Timoksen, the philosopher wrote the essay “Consolation to his wife”, which has survived to this day.

When the sons grew up, Plutarch decided to independently engage in their education. Later, his students included the children of other townspeople. This gave the philosopher the idea of ​​teaching people all over the country, which he did.

Death

The exact date of the death of the philosopher is unknown, however, presumably, this happened between 125 and 127. Plutarch died of natural causes - old age. It happened in his hometown of Chaeronea, but Plutarch was buried in Delphi - according to the will.

At the burial place of the philosopher, a monument was erected, which archaeologists discovered in 1877, during excavations. Plutarch left behind a good memory - numerous biographies of great people are named after the philosopher, as well as a crater on the visible side of the moon.

Bibliography

• "Comparative Lives"
• "morals"
• "Table Talk"
• "Greek Questions"
• "Roman Questions"
• "On Monarchy, Democracy and Oligarchy"
• "On Controversy Among the Stoics"
• "On Isis and Osiris"
• “That the Pythians no longer prophesy in verse”
• "On the Fortune and Valor of Alexander the Great"
• "Platonic Questions"

Quotes

• "Traitors betray, first of all, themselves."
• “Chatterbox wants to force himself to be loved - and causes hatred, wants to render a service - and becomes obsessive, wants to cause surprise - and becomes ridiculous; he offends his friends, serves his enemies, and all this is to his own destruction.”
• “Whoever expects to secure his health by being lazy acts just as stupidly as a person who thinks in silence to improve his voice.”
• “We often ask a question, not in need of an answer, but in an effort to hear the voice and ingratiate ourselves with the other person, wanting to draw him into the conversation. Getting ahead of others with answers, trying to capture someone else's hearing and occupy other people's thoughts, is the same as climbing to kiss a person who is thirsty for the kiss of another, or trying to attract the gaze of another to himself.
• “Sometimes it is not without benefit to shut up the offender with a witty rebuke; such a rebuke should be brief and not reveal either irritation or rage, but let her know how to bite a little with a calm smile, returning the blow; just as arrows fly from a solid object back to the one who sent them, so an insult seems to fly back from an intelligent and self-controlled speaker and hit the offender.

Plutarch
Πλούταρχος
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In the fiftieth year of his life, Plutarch became a priest of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. In trying to restore the sanctuary and the oracle to their former importance, he earned the deep respect of the Amphictyons, who erected a statue of him.

Compositions

Plutarch was not an original writer. Basically, he collected and processed what others had written before him. However, the tradition of Plutarch influenced European thought and literature for many centuries.

As can be seen from the catalog of a certain Lamprias, the alleged student of Plutarch, he left behind about 210 works. A significant part of them has come down to our time. According to the tradition dating back to the publishers of the Renaissance, these works are divided into two main groups: philosophical and journalistic, known under the general name " Ἠθικά (Ethics) or Moralia, and biographical (biography).

The "Ethics" includes about 80 works. The earliest of these are those that are rhetorical in nature, such as praise for Athens, discussions about Fortune (Greek Tyche) and its role in the life of Alexander the Great or in the history of Rome. A large group is also made up of popular philosophical treatises; of these, perhaps the most characteristic of Plutarch is the short essay On the State of the Spirit. Without going deep into theoretical reasoning, Plutarch often gives a lot of valuable information on the history of philosophy. Such are the works "Platonic Questions" and "On the Creation of the Soul in the Timaeus", as well as polemical works directed against the Epicureans and Stoics.

For educational purposes, other essays were conceived containing advice on how to act in order to be happy and overcome shortcomings (for example, “On excessive curiosity”, “On talkativeness”, “On excessive timidity”). For the same reasons, Plutarch dealt with issues of love and marriage. The compositions on the topics of family life also include consolation (that is, a consolatory essay after a grievous loss), addressed to Plutarch's wife Timoxene, who lost her only daughter. Plutarch's pedagogical interests are reflected in many of his works (“How a young man should listen to poets”, “How to use lectures”, etc.). Thematically, the political writings of Plutarch approach them, especially those that contain recommendations for rulers and statesmen.

Along with the most popular works in the dialogic form, the Ethics also included others - close in nature to a scientific report. So, for example, the essay “On the face on the lunar disk” presents various theories regarding this celestial body; at the end, Plutarch turns to the theory adopted at the Academy of Plato (Xenocrates from Chalcedon), seeing in the Moon the homeland of demons.

Plutarch also wrote about the human soul, was interested in psychology, the psychology of animals (“On the ingenuity of animals”, “On meat-eating”).

Plutarch devoted numerous works to questions of religion, among them the so-called "Pythian" dialogues concerning the oracle of Apollo in Delphi. The most interesting in this group is the work "On Isis and Osiris", in which Plutarch, himself initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus, outlined the most diverse syncretic and allegorical interpretations of the mysteries of Osiris and ancient Egyptian mythology.

Plutarch's interest in antiquities is evidenced by two works: "Greek questions" (Aitia Hellenika; lat. Quaestiones Graecae) ​​and "Roman questions" (Aitia Romaika; lat. Quaestiones Romanae), which reveal the meaning and origin of various customs of the Greco-Roman world ( much space is devoted to questions of worship). Plutarch's predilection for anecdotes, which also manifested itself in his biographies, is reflected in the collection of Lacedaemon sayings (another collection of well-known sayings, "Apothegms of Kings and Generals", is most likely not authentic). A variety of topics are revealed in the form of dialogue by such works as "The Feast of the Seven Wise Men" or "Table Talk" (in 9 books).

The Ethics of Plutarch also includes non-authentic works (by unknown authors, attributed to Plutarch in antiquity and widely known under his name). The most important of them are the treatises “On Music” (one of the main sources of our knowledge about ancient music in general) and “On the Education of Children” (a work translated into many languages ​​back in the Renaissance and considered authentic until the beginning of the 19th century).

A number of works previously attributed to Plutarch were written by unknown authors, in relation to which scientists now use the (conditional) name Pseudo-Plutarch. Among those - who lived presumably in the II century AD. e. unknown author of the works “Small comparative biographies” (another name is “Collection of parallel Greek and Roman stories”, abbreviated as ICJ) and “On rivers”, containing a lot of information on ancient mythology and history, which, as is generally recognized in science, are completely invented by him. In addition to these two, many other works not belonging to him have been preserved under the name of Plutarch, for example, the treatise On Music.

Comparative biographies

Plutarch owes his literary fame not to eclectic philosophical reasoning, and not to writings on ethics, but to biographies (which, however, are most directly related to ethics). Plutarch outlines his goals in the introduction to the biography of Aemilius Paulus (Aemilius Paulus): communication with the great people of antiquity has educational functions, and if not all the heroes of biographies are attractive, then a negative example is also valuable, it can have an intimidating effect and turn to the path of the righteous life. In his biographies, Plutarch follows the teachings of the Peripatetics, who in the field of ethics attributed decisive importance to human actions, arguing that every action gives rise to virtue. Plutarch follows the scheme of peripatetic biographies, describing in turn the birth, youth, character, activity, death of the hero. Nowhere is Plutarch a historian critical of the facts. The huge historical material available to him is used very freely (“we write a biography, not a history”). First of all, Plutarch needs a psychological portrait of a person; in order to visually represent him, he willingly draws on information from the private life of the persons depicted, anecdotes and witty sayings. The text includes numerous moral arguments, various quotations from poets. This is how colorful, emotional narratives were born, the success of which was ensured by the author's talent for storytelling, his craving for everything human and moral optimism that elevates the soul. Biographies of Plutarch have for us a purely historical value, because he had many valuable sources, which were subsequently lost.

Plutarch began to write biographies in his youth. At first, he turned his attention to the famous people of Boeotia: Hesiod, Pindar, Epaminondas. Subsequently, he began to write about representatives of other regions of Greece: the Spartan king Leonidas, Aristomenes, Arata of Sicyon. There is even a biography of the Persian king Artaxerxes II. During his stay in Rome, Plutarch wrote biographies of Roman emperors intended for the Greeks. And only in the later period did he write his most important work “Comparative Biographies” (ancient Greek. Βίοι Παράλληλοι ; lat. Vitae parallelae). These were biographies of prominent historical figures of Greece and Rome, compared in pairs. Currently, 22 couples and four single biographies of an earlier period are known (Arat of Sicyon, Artaxerxes II, Galba and Otho). Among the couples, some are well composed: the mythical founders of Athens and Rome - Theseus and Romulus; the first legislators are Lycurgus of Sparta and Numa Pompilius; the greatest generals are Alexander the Great and Gaius Julius Caesar; the greatest orators are Cicero and Demosthenes. Others are compared more arbitrarily: "children of happiness" - Timoleon and Aemilius Paul, or a couple illustrating the vicissitudes of human destinies - Alcibiades and Coriolanus. After each pair, Plutarch apparently intended to give a comparative description (synkrisis), a brief indication of the common features and main differences between the characters. However, for several couples (in particular, for Alexander and Caesar), the juxtaposition is missing, that is, it has not been preserved (or, less likely, it has not been written). In the text of biographies there are cross-references, from which we learn that there were originally more of them than in the body of texts that has come down to us. Lost biographies of Leonidas, Epaminondas, Scipio Africanus).

The lack of historical criticism and the depth of political thought did not interfere, and still do not prevent Plutarch's biographies from finding numerous readers who are interested in their diverse and instructive content and highly appreciate the warm humane feeling of the author.

Other works

The standard edition includes 78 treatises, some of which (according to modern science) do not belong to Plutarch.

Plutarch's translations

For editions of ethical writings, see Moralia (Plutarch)

Of the translators of Plutarch into new European languages, the French author Amyot enjoyed special fame.

Russian translations

Plutarch began to be translated into Russian since the 18th century: See the translations of Stepan Pisarev, “Plutarch’s Instructions on childcare” (St. Petersburg, 1771) and “The Word of Unceasing Curiosity” (St. Iv. Alekseev, "The Moral and Philosophical Writings of Plutarch" (St. Petersburg, 1789); E. Sferina, "On Superstition" (St. Petersburg, 1807); S. Distunis and others. "Plutarch's comparative biographies" (St. Petersburg, 1810, 1814-16, 1817-21); "Biography of Plutarch" ed. V. Guerrier (M., 1862); biographies of Plutarch in a cheap edition by A. Suvorin (translated by V. Alekseev, vols. I-VII) and under the title "Life and deeds of famous people of antiquity" (M., 1889, I-II); "Conversation about the face visible on the disk of the moon" ("Phil. Review" vol. VI, book 2).

• reprint: Comparative biographies. / Per. V. A. Alekseev. M.: Alfa-kn. 2008. 1263 pages.

The best Russian edition of Comparative Biographies, where most of the translation was done by S. P. Markish:

• Plutarch. Comparative biographies. In 2 volumes / Ed. preparation S. S. Averintsev, M. L. Gasparov, S. P. Markish. Rep. ed. S. S. Averintsev. (Series "Literary monuments"). 1st ed. In 3 volumes - M.-L.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1961-1964. - 2nd ed., corrected. and additional - M.: Nauka, 1994. - T. 1. 704 p. - T. 2. 672 p.
• Plutarch/ Per. G. A. Ivanova. Based on materials from the collection "Philosophy of Nature in Antiquity and the Middle Ages". Moscow: Progress-Tradition, 2000.

Research

For the comparative merits of Plutarch's manuscripts, see critical apparatuses for editions of Reiske (Lpts., 1774-82), Sintenis ("Vitae", 2nd ed., Lpts., 1858-64); Wyttenbach ("Moralia", Lpts., 1796-1834), Bernardakes ("Moralia", Lpts. 1888-95), also Treu, "Zur Gesch. d. Oberlieferung von Plut. Moralia" (Bresl., 1877-84). Dictionary of the Plutarchian language - under the name. Wyttenbach's edition. About the life of Plutarch, Svyda gives meager information.

From other Op. cf. Wesiermann, "De Plut. vita et scriptis” (Lpts., 1855); Volkmann "Leben, Schriften und Philosophie des Plutarch" (B., 1869); Muhl, "Plutarchische Studien" (Augsburg, 1885) and others.

• Yelpidinsky Ya.S. Religious and moral outlook of Plutarch of Chaeronea. - St. Petersburg, 1893. 462 pages.
• Averintsev S. S. Plutarch and ancient biography: On the question of the place of the classic of the genre in the history of the genre. - M., 1973.
  • reissue in the book: Averintsev S.S. The image of antiquity. Sat. - St. Petersburg: ABC-classics. 2004. 480 pages, 3000 copies.

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Links

• in ancient Greek
• in the library of Maxim Moshkov
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An excerpt characterizing Plutarch

Mom was really worried, and I felt ashamed to tell her lies. And since, unfortunately, I couldn’t tell the truth (so as not to frighten her again), I immediately tried to assure her that everything was really, really perfectly fine with me. And she was frantically thinking about what to do after all ...
- Why are you so nervous? Stella suddenly asked. Is it because I came?
- Well, what are you! I exclaimed, but when I saw her gaze, I decided that it was not fair to deceive a comrade.
- Okay, you guessed it. It's just that when I talk to you, to everyone else I look "frozen" and it looks very strange. This especially frightens my mother ... So I don’t know how to get out of such a situation so that everything is good for everyone ...
“But why didn’t you tell me?! ..” Stella was very surprised. “I wanted to make you happy, not upset!” I'll leave now.
But you really made me happy! I sincerely objected. It's just because of them...
- Are you coming back soon? I'm bored... It's so uninteresting to walk alone... It's good for my grandmother - she's alive and can go wherever she wants, even to you....
I felt wildly sorry for this wonderful, kindest girl ...
“And you come whenever you want, only when I’m alone, then no one can interfere with us,” I sincerely offered. - And I will come to you soon, as soon as the holidays are over. You just wait.
Stella smiled happily, and again “decorating” the room with crazy flowers and butterflies, she disappeared ... And without her, I immediately felt empty, as if she had taken with her a piece of joy that this wonderful evening was filled with ... I looked at my grandmother, looking for support, but she was talking very enthusiastically with her guest about something and did not pay any attention to me. Everything again seemed to fall into place, and everything was fine again, but I did not stop thinking about Stella, about how lonely she was, and how unfair sometimes our Fate is for some reason ... So, having promised myself as soon as possible to return to my faithful girlfriend, I again completely “returned” to my “living” friends, and only dad, who had been watching me very carefully all evening, looked at me with surprised eyes, as if trying hard to understand where and what is serious he once “blinked” with me so insultingly ...
When the guests had already begun to go home, the “seeing” boy suddenly began to cry ... When I asked him what had happened, he pouted and said offendedly:
- And where is the girl? .. And the bowl? And no butterflies...
Mom only smiled tightly in response, and quickly took away her second son, who did not want to say goodbye to us, and went home ...
I was very upset and very happy at the same time! .. This was the first time I met another baby who had a similar gift ... And I promised myself not to calm down until I could convince this "unfair" and unhappy mother how her baby was a truly great miracle ... He, like each of us, should have had the right to free choice, and his mother had no right to take it away from him ... At least until he himself will begin to understand something.
I looked up and saw my dad, who was leaning on the door frame, and all this time he was watching me with great interest. Dad came up and, affectionately hugging me by the shoulders, quietly said:
- Come on, let's go, you will tell me why you fought so hotly here ...
And then I felt very light and calm in my soul. Finally, he will know everything, and I will never have to hide anything from him again! He was my best friend, who, unfortunately, did not even know half the truth about what my life really was ... It was not fair and it was unfair ... And I only now realized how strange everything was this is the time to hide my “second” life from dad just because it seemed to mom that dad would not understand ... I should have given him such a chance even earlier and now I was very glad that I could do it at least now ...
Sitting comfortably on his favorite sofa, we talked for a very long time ... And how much I was delighted and surprised that, as I told him about my incredible adventures, my father's face brightened more and more! .. I I realized that my whole “incredible” story not only does not scare him, but, on the contrary, for some reason makes him very happy ...
“I always knew that you would be special with me, Svetlenkaya ...” when I finished, dad said very seriously. - I'm proud of you. Can I help you with something?
I was so shocked by what had happened that for no reason, I burst into tears uncontrollably ... Dad cradled me in his arms like a small child, quietly whispering something, and I, from happiness that he understood me, did not I heard, only I understood that all my hated "secrets" were already behind, and now everything will definitely be fine ...
I wrote about this birthday because it left in my soul a deep trace of something very important and very kind, without which my story about myself would certainly be incomplete ...
The next day, everything seemed normal and everyday again, as if that incredibly happy birthday didn’t happen yesterday ...
The usual school and household chores almost completely loaded the hours allotted for the day, and what was left - as always, was my favorite time, and I tried to use it very "economically" in order to learn as much as possible useful, and as much as possible "unusual" in to find yourself and in everything around you ...
Naturally, they didn’t let me near the “gifted” neighbor boy, explaining that the baby had a cold, but as I later learned from his older brother, the boy felt absolutely fine, and apparently “sick” only for me ...
It was very unfortunate that his mother, who at one time had probably gone through a rather “thorny” path of the same “unusual”, categorically did not want to accept any help from me, and tried in every possible way to protect her sweet, talented son from me. But this, again, was only one of those many bitter and hurtful moments of my life when no one needed the help I offered, and I now tried to avoid such “moments” as carefully as possible... Again, it is impossible for people there was something to prove if they didn't want to accept it. And I never considered it right to prove my truth “with fire and sword”, so I preferred to leave everything to chance until the moment when a person comes to me himself and asks for help.
From my school girlfriends, I again moved away a little, because lately they have almost always had the same conversations - which boys they like best, and how one or the other could “get” ... Frankly, I couldn’t understand why it attracted them so much then that they could ruthlessly spend such free hours dear to all of us on this, and at the same time be in an absolutely enthusiastic state from everything they said or heard to each other. Apparently, for some reason I was still completely and completely not ready for this whole complex epic “boy-girl”, for which I received an evil nickname from my girlfriends - “proud” ... Although, I think that it was the pride I wasn’t in any way ... But it was just that the girls were infuriated that I refused the “events” they offered, for the simple reason that honestly I wasn’t interested in it yet, and I didn’t see any serious reason to throw away my free time the reasons. But naturally, my schoolmates didn’t like my behavior in any way, since, again, it singled me out from the general crowd and made me different, not the same as everyone else, which, according to the guys, was “inhuman” according to the school. ..
So, again, half “rejected” by my school friends and girlfriends, my winter days passed, which no longer upset me at all, because, having been worried about our “relationship” for several years, I saw that, in the end, in this makes no sense, since everyone lives as he sees fit, well, what will come of us later is, again, a private problem for each of us. And no one could force me to waste my "valuable" time on empty talk, when I preferred to spend it reading the most interesting books, walking along the "floors" or even riding along the winter paths on Snowstorm ...
Dad, after my honest story about my “adventures”, for some reason (to my great joy!!!) stopped considering me a “little child” and unexpectedly opened me access to all his previously unauthorized books, which tied me even more to "loneliness at home" and, combining such a life with grandma's pies, I felt absolutely happy and certainly not alone in any way ...
But, as it was before, it was clearly “contraindicated” for me to quietly engage in my favorite reading for a long time, since, almost without fail, something “extraordinary” was bound to happen ... So that evening, when I was calmly reading a new book, crunching the freshly baked cherry pies with pleasure, Stella suddenly appeared in an excited and disheveled voice and declared in a peremptory voice:
“It’s good that I found you – you should come with me right now! ..
- And what happened? .. Where to go? – Surprised by such unusual haste, I asked.
- To Maria, Dean died there ... Well, come on !!! – impatiently shouted girlfriend.
I immediately remembered little, black-eyed Maria, who had only one friend - her faithful Dean...
- Already going! - I was alarmed and quickly rushed after Stella to the "floors" ...

We were again met by the same gloomy, ominous landscape, which I almost paid no attention to, since, like everything else, after so many trips to the Lower Astral, it became almost familiar to us, as far as one could get used to such a thing at all. ..
We quickly looked around, and immediately saw Maria ...
The little girl, hunched over, sat right on the ground, completely drooping, not seeing or hearing anything around, and only gently stroking the shaggy, motionless body of her "departed" friend with her frozen hand, as if trying to wake him up with this ... Severe, and bitter, completely not children's tears flowed in streams from her sad, extinct eyes, and, flashing with brilliant sparks, disappeared in the dry grass, irrigating it for a moment with pure, living rain ... It seemed that this whole already cruel enough world had become for Mary now more colder and even more alien... She was left all alone, so surprisingly fragile in her deep sadness, and there was no one else to console her, caress her, or at least just protect her in a friendly way... And next to her, a huge , her best friend, her faithful Dean, was lying motionless... She clung to his soft, furry back, unconsciously refusing to acknowledge his death. And she stubbornly did not want to leave him, as if she knew that even now, after death, he still loved her faithfully and also sincerely protected her ... She really missed his warmth, his strong "hairy" support, and that habitual, reliable, “their little world”, in which only the two of them lived ... But Dean was silent, stubbornly not wanting to wake up ... And some small, toothy creatures darted around him, who strove to grab at least a small piece of his hairy “flesh” ... At the beginning, Maria still tried to drive them away with a stick, but, seeing that the attackers did not pay any attention to her, she waved her hand at everything ... Here, just like on the “solid” Earth, existed “ the law of the strong”, but when this strong one died, those who could not get him alive, now with pleasure tried to make up for lost time, “tasting” his energy body, at least dead...
This sad picture made my heart ache sharply and treacherously tingle in my eyes ... I suddenly felt wildly sorry for this wonderful, brave girl ... And I could not even imagine how she, poor thing, could be completely alone, in in this terrible, sinister world, to stand up for yourself?!
Stella's eyes also suddenly shone with moisture - apparently, she was visited by similar thoughts.
“Forgive me, Maria, how did your Dean die?” I finally decided to ask.
The girl raised her tear-stained face at us, in my opinion, not even understanding what she was being asked about. She was very far away... Perhaps where her faithful friend was still alive, where she was not so lonely, where everything was clear and good... And the little girl did not want to come back here. Today's world was evil and dangerous, and she had no one else to rely on, and no one to protect her ... Finally, taking a deep breath and heroically gathering her emotions into a fist, Maria told us the sad story of Dina's death ...
- I was with my mother, and my kind Dean, as always, guarded us ... And then suddenly a terrible man appeared from somewhere. He was very bad. I wanted to run away from him, wherever my eyes looked, but I just could not understand why ... He was just like us, even handsome, just very unpleasant. Horror and death emanated from him. And he laughed all the time. And from this laughter, my mother and I froze the blood ... He wanted to take my mother with him, said that she would serve him ... And my mother escaped, but, of course, he was much stronger ... And then Dean tried to protect us, which he had always been able to do before. Only the man was probably somehow special... He threw a strange orange "flame" at Dean, which could not be extinguished... And when, even burning, Dean tried to protect us, the man killed him with blue lightning, which suddenly "flared" from his hand. That's how my Dean died... And now I'm alone.
– Where is your mother? Stella asked.
“Mom is still here,” the little girl was embarrassed. “It’s just that she gets angry very often ... And now we have no protection. Now we're all alone...
Stella and I looked at each other... It was felt that both of them had the same thought at the same time - the Luminary!.. He was strong and kind. It only remained to hope that he would have a desire to help this unfortunate, lonely girl, and become her real protector, at least until she returns to her "good and kind" world...
“Where is this terrible man now?” Do you know where he went? I asked impatiently. Why didn't he take your mother with him?
I don't know, maybe he'll come back. I don't know where he went and I don't know who he is. But he is very, very angry... Why is he so angry, girls?
Well, we'll find out, I promise you. Now, would you like to see a good man? He is also here, but, unlike that "terrible", he is really very good. He can be your friend while you're here, if you want to be. Friends call him Luminary.
- Oh, what a beautiful name! And good...

Plutarch Plutarch

(c. 45 - c. 127), ancient Greek writer and historian. The main work is "Comparative Lives" of prominent Greeks and Romans (50 biographies). The rest of the numerous works that have come down to us are united under the conditional name "Moralia".

PLUTARCH

PLUTARCH (c. 46 - c. 120), ancient Greek writer, historian, author of moral-philosophical and historical-biographical works. From the huge literary heritage of Plutarch, which amounted to approx. 250 compositions, no more than a third of the works have survived, most of which are united under the general title "Moral". Another group - "Comparative Lives" - includes 23 pairs of biographies of prominent statesmen of Ancient Greece and Rome, selected according to the similarity of their historical mission and similarity of characters.
Biography
The ancient tradition did not preserve the biography of Plutarch, but it can be reconstructed with sufficient completeness from his own writings. Plutarch was born in the 40s of the 1st century in Boeotia, in the small town of Chaeronea, where in 338 BC. e. there was a battle between the troops of Philip of Macedon and the Greek troops. In the time of Plutarch, his homeland was part of the Roman province of Achaia, and only the carefully preserved traditions of antiquity could testify to its former greatness. Plutarch came from an old wealthy family and received a traditional grammatical and rhetorical education, which he continued in Athens, becoming a student at the school of the philosopher Ammonius. Returning to his native city, from his youthful years he took part in its administration, holding various magistracies, including the prominent position of archon-eponym (cm. EPONYMS).
Plutarch repeatedly went on political missions to Rome, where he struck up friendly relations with many statesmen, among whom was a friend of Emperor Trajan, the consul Quintus Sosius Senekion; Plutarch dedicated Comparative Biographies and Table Talk to him. Proximity to influential circles of the empire and growing literary fame brought Plutarch new honorary positions: under Trajan (98-117) he became proconsul, under Hadrian (117-138) - procurator of the province of Achaia. A surviving inscription from the era of Hadrian testifies that the emperor granted Plutarch Roman citizenship, classifying him as a member of the Mestrian family.
Despite a brilliant political career, Plutarch chose a quiet life in his native city, surrounded by his children and students, who made up a small academy in Chaeronea. “As for me,” Plutarch points out, “I live in a small town and, so that it does not become even smaller, I willingly stay in it.” Plutarch's public activities earned him great respect in Greece. Around the year 95, fellow citizens elected him a member of the college of priests of the sanctuary of Delphic Apollo. A statue was erected in his honor at Delphi, from which, during excavations in 1877, a pedestal with a poetic dedication was found.
The time of Plutarch's life refers to the era of the "Hellenic revival" of the beginning of the 2nd century. During this period, the educated circles of the Empire were seized by the desire to imitate the ancient Hellenes both in the customs of everyday life and in literary creativity. The policy of Emperor Hadrian, who provided assistance to the Greek cities that had fallen into decay, could not but arouse among Plutarch's compatriots the hope of a possible revival of the traditions of the independent policies of Hellas.
The literary activity of Plutarch was primarily of an educational and educational nature. His works are addressed to a wide range of readers and have a pronounced moral and ethical orientation associated with the traditions of the teaching genre - diatribe. (cm. DIATRIBE). Plutarch's worldview is harmonious and clear: he believes in a higher mind that governs the universe, and is like a wise teacher who never tires of reminding his listeners of eternal human values.
Small works
The wide range of topics covered in Plutarch's writings reflects the encyclopedic nature of his knowledge. He creates “Political Instructions”, essays on practical morality (“On envy and hatred”, “How to distinguish a flatterer from a friend”, “On love for children”, etc.), he is interested in the influence of literature on a person (“How young men get to know poetry") and questions of cosmogony ("On the generation of the world soul according to Timaeus").
The works of Plutarch are imbued with the spirit of Platonic philosophy; his writings are full of quotations and reminiscences from the works of the great philosopher, and the treatise Platonic Questions is a real commentary on his texts. Plutarch is concerned about the problems of religious and philosophical content, to which the so-called. Pythian dialogues (“On the sign “E” in Delphi”, “On the decline of the oracles”), the essay “On the daimonia of Socrates” and the treatise “On Isis and Osiris”.
The group of dialogues, dressed in the traditional form of conversations of companions at a feast, is a collection of entertaining information from mythology, deep philosophical remarks and sometimes curious natural science ideas. The titles of the dialogues can give an idea of ​​the variety of questions Plutarch is interested in: “Why do we not believe in autumn dreams”, “Which hand of Aphrodite was hurt by Diomedes”, “Various legends about the number of Muses”, “What is the meaning of Plato in the belief that God always remains a geometer” . To the same circle of Plutarch's works belong "Greek questions" and "Roman questions", containing different points of view on the origin of state institutions, traditions and customs of antiquity.
Comparative biographies
The main work of Plutarch, which became one of the most famous works of ancient literature, was his biographical writings. "Comparative Lives" absorbed a huge historical material, including information from the works of ancient historians that have not survived to this day, the author's personal impressions of ancient monuments, quotations from Homer, epigrams and epitaphs. It is customary to reproach Plutarch for an uncritical attitude to the sources used, but it must be borne in mind that the main thing for him was not the historical event itself, but the trace it left in history.
This can be confirmed by the treatise "On the Malice of Herodotus", in which Plutarch reproaches Herodotus for partiality and distortion of the history of the Greco-Persian wars. (cm. GRECO-PERSIAN WARS). Plutarch, who lived 400 years later, in an era when, in his words, a Roman boot was raised over the head of every Greek, wanted to see the great generals and politicians not as they really were, but the ideal embodiment of valor and courage. He did not seek to recreate history in all its real fullness, but found in it outstanding examples of wisdom, heroism, self-sacrifice in the name of the motherland, designed to strike the imagination of his contemporaries.
In the introduction to the biography of Alexander the Great, Plutarch formulates the principle that he put as the basis for the selection of facts: “We do not write history, but biographies, and virtue or depravity is not always visible in the most glorious deeds, but often some insignificant deed, word or joke better reveal the character of a person than battles in which tens of thousands die, the leadership of huge armies and the siege of cities. The artistic skill of Plutarch made the "Comparative Lives" a favorite reading for young people who learned from his writings about the events of the history of Greece and Rome. The heroes of Plutarch became the personification of historical eras: ancient times were associated with the activities of the wise legislators of Solon (cm. SOLON), Lycurgus (cm. LYCURGUS) and Numa (cm. NUMA POMPILIUS), and the end of the Roman Republic was presented as a majestic drama, driven by the clashes of the characters of Caesar (cm. CAESAR Gaius Julius), Pompeii (cm. POMPEI Gnaeus), Krassa (cm. KRASS), Anthony, Brutus (cm. Brutus Decimus Junius Albinus).
It can be said without exaggeration that thanks to Plutarch, European culture developed an idea of ​​ancient history as a semi-legendary era of freedom and civic prowess. That is why his works were highly valued by the thinkers of the Enlightenment, the figures of the Great French Revolution and the generation of the Decembrists. The very name of the Greek writer became a household name, since in the 19th century numerous publications of biographies of great people were called "Plutarchs".

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what "Plutarch" is in other dictionaries:

From Chaeronea (c. 45 c. 127), Greek. writer and philosopher. Belonged to the Platonic Academy and professed the cult of Plato, paying tribute to numerous. stoich., peri pathetic. and Pythagorean influences in the spirit characteristic of that time ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

- (c. 40 120 AD) Greek writer, historian and philosopher; lived in the era of stabilization of the Roman Empire, when the economy, political life and ideology of ancient society entered a period of prolonged stagnation and decay. Ideological ... ... Literary Encyclopedia

- (c. 46 c. 127) philosopher, writer and historian, from Chaeronea (Boeotia) The highest wisdom when philosophizing, not seeming philosophizing and a joke to achieve a serious goal. Conversation should be as common to those who feast as wine. Chief... ... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Plutarch- Plutarch. Plutarch (c. 45 c. 127), Greek writer. The main work "Comparative Lives" of prominent Greeks and Romans (50 biographies). The rest of the numerous works that have come down to us are united under the conditional name "Moralia" ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

And husband. Star. redk.Otch.: Plutarchovich, Plutarchovna. Derivatives: Tarya; Arya. Origin: (Greek personal name Plutarchos. From plutos wealth and arche power.) Dictionary of personal names. Plutarch a, m. Star. rare Reporter: Plutarchovich, Plutarkhovna. Derivatives… Dictionary of personal names

Plutarch, Plutarchos, from Chaeronea, before 50 after 120 n. e., Greek philosopher and biographer. He came from a wealthy family living in a small town in Boeotia. In Athens, he studied mathematics, rhetoric and philosophy, the latter mainly from ... ... Ancient writers

PLUTARCH Dictionary-reference book on Ancient Greece and Rome, on mythology

PLUTARCH- (c. 46 - c. 126) Greek essayist and biographer, born in Chaeronea (Boeotia), studied in Athens, was a priest of the Pythian Apollo in Delphi, traveled to Egypt, Italy, lived in Rome. Most of the works of Plutarch devoted to scientific, ... ... List of ancient Greek names

- (c. 45 c. 127) ancient Greek writer and historian. Main work Comparative biographies of prominent Greeks and Romans (50 biographies). The rest of the numerous works that have come down to us are united under the conditional name of Moralia ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Plutarchus, Πλούταρχος). A Greek writer who lived in Boeotia in the first century A.D., who traveled widely and spent some time in Rome. He died about 120 tons from R. X. Of his works of historical and philosophical content, the most remarkable ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

State educational institution of higher

vocational education

"Vyatka State Humanitarian University"

Faculty of Law

Test

By discipline: History of the state and law of foreign countries

Topic: Public and state institutions of Sparta (according to the works of Plutarch and Aristotle)

Is done by a student

distance learning

group: UB

Bushuev Alexey Yurievich

Teacher:

Introduction

1. Public institutions of Sparta (according to the works of Plutarch and Aristotle)

1.1 The social system of Sparta

2 Education of the Spartans

2.1 The highest bodies of state power in Sparta

2.2 Institute of royal power. Military positions

Conclusion

Introduction

The states of ancient Greece, which developed in successive contact with the most ancient civilizations, made an outstanding contribution to world culture. The heritage of antiquity, especially in the field of philosophy, art and law, formed the basis of European civilization. In this regard, the problem of the Greek states occupies a special place. The glory of Sparta - the Peloponnesian city in Laconia - is very loud in historical chronicles and in the world. It was one of the most famous policies of Ancient Greece, which did not know unrest and civil upheavals, and its army never retreated before the enemy. The military power and high organization of the Spartan troops were not in doubt, and the social life of Ancient Sparta was aimed at maintaining the constant combat readiness of the entire team of Spartans. At the end of the VI century. BC. Sparta was the strongest state of Hellas, controlling the entire territory of the Peloponnese with the exception of Argos and the northern cities of Arcadia.

The object of this study is the social relations that developed in Ancient Sparta, characterizing its public and state institutions. The subject of study of the work are the works of the ancient Greek historians Plutarch and Aristotle.

The aim of the work is to study the public and state institutions of Sparta based on the works of Plutarch and Aristotle. The subject of study of the work are the works of the ancient Greek historians Plutarch and Aristotle. Achieving this goal required solving the following tasks:

consider the social system of Sparta;

to study the upbringing of the Spartans;

explore the highest organs of state power in Sparta;

consider the institution of royal power and military posts in Sparta.

The main sources on the history of the Spartan state are the works of the ancient Greek historians Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon,
Aristotle and Plutarch. We are interested in the last two authors. Aristotle's "politics" is of a general theoretical nature. Aristotle. Politics. M., 1994. Plutarch (46-126 AD) in his "Comparative Lives" of famous Greeks and Romans gives a biography of the semi-mythical Spartan king Lycurgus and describes his reforms, which played an important role in the socio-economic life of Sparta. Extreme assessments of Sparta as a type of polis are generally characteristic of historiography. The main features of Sparta to students in the textbooks of the history of the Ancient World are revealed by the cruel attitude of the Spartans towards the conquered helots and the characterization of Sparta as a military camp, after which it is stated that in the VI century BC. Sparta became one of the most powerful cities in Greece. It is all the more important to take a deeper and more objective look at the society and state of ancient Sparta from the point of view of the contradictions that have developed in modern historiography: a halo of myths and legends has developed around Sparta back in antiquity. Some Greeks condemned and ridiculed Sparta. Others were surprised at the order and customs of the Spartans, admired the military power and fortitude. Plato and Aristotle saw in Sparta a model of stability worthy of emulation. This pattern was put by them as the basis for the concept of an ideal policy. In modern science, this perception of Sparta is usually called the "Spartan mirage".

In general, from the available literature, one can get a fairly clear idea of ​​the development of public and state institutions in Sparta.

In the course of writing this work, articles and monographs by Yu.V. Andreeva, K.M. Kolobova and others. The work consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of references.

Public institutions of Sparta (according to the works of Plutarch and Aristotle)

1 The social structure of Sparta

In Sparta, a peculiar class slave-owning society developed, which retained significant vestiges of primitive communal relations.

The ruling class was the Spartans. Only they were considered full citizens. While maintaining the joint ownership of land by citizens, belonging to the ruling class was supported by providing each Spartiate with a land allotment (clerk) for use, along with slaves attached to it - helots, whose labor provided the means of subsistence for the Spartiate and his family. The land is divided into 9,000 roughly equal, indivisible and inalienable cleres. They could not be sold, donated or bequeathed.

The Spartans lived in the likeness of a city that united 5 villages and resembled a kind of military camp. Their life was strictly regulated. The main duty was considered military. Adult men united in age and other unions that determined the social status of their members. A select few citizens were included in the privileged corps of 300 horsemen.

In order to maintain unity, the Spartans had to participate in public meals - sissitia, organized at the expense of the established monthly contributions of the Spartans. The portions of the sessitia participants were equal. Honorary shares were received by officials. The clothes and weapons of the warriors were the same. The rules against luxury established by Lycurgus also contributed to maintaining the unity of the Spartans. The Spartans were also forbidden to trade; heavy, inconvenient iron coins were introduced for them.

However, these restrictions could not prevent the development of property differentiation, which undermined the unity and "equality" of the Spartans. Since land plots were inherited only by the eldest sons, the rest could only receive escheated plots. If there were none, they passed into the category of hypomeions (descended) and lost the right to participate in the national assembly and sissitia. The number of hypomeions steadily increased, and the number of Spartans decreased accordingly - from nine to four thousand by the end of the 4th century. BC.

Perieki - inhabitants of the peripheral mountainous barren regions of Sparta - legally occupied an intermediate position between the Spartans and the helots. They were personally free, had property legal capacity, but did not enjoy political rights and were under the supervision of special officials - harmosts. They were subject to military duty: they had to participate in battles as heavily armed soldiers. The main occupation of the perieks is trade and craft. In their position, they were close to the Athenian meteki, but unlike the latter, the highest officials of the state could execute them without trial.

Helots - enslaved inhabitants of Messenia - were the property of the state. They were placed at the disposal of the Spartans, cultivated their land and gave them about half of the crop (the Spartans used slaves from prisoners of war for domestic work). Although in Sparta, as in Athens, the exploitation of slave labor became the basis of social production, collective Spartan slavery was different from classical slavery. Helotia was a specific form of slavery. The helots ran their household practically independently, were not a commodity, like slaves, and freely disposed of the remaining part of their crop. Their economic and social position was close to that of serfs. It is assumed that they had a family and formed some kind of community, which was the collective property of the Spartiate community.

Helots participated in the wars of Sparta as lightly armed warriors. They could buy themselves free, but in other respects they were completely powerless. Every year, the Spartans declared war on the helots, accompanied by massacres. However, the killing of a helot was allowed at any other time.

The military nature of Spartan society contributed to the preservation of remnants of pre-class relations among the Spartans. Such a survival was the significant socialization of the life of the Spartans, associated with their complete elimination from economic activity and with their equally complete transformation into a military ruling class.

In the life of the Spartans, many customs dating back to ancient times have been preserved. For example, the archaic system of age classes, which is found in the bowels of the Spartan state apparatus. The most important attributes of this regime were such circumstances as the power of the council of elders, which extended to all state affairs, the political and even economic incompetence of younger citizens, the upbringing of the younger generation in the spirit of unquestioning obedience to elders, etc. .

Women were complete housewives in everyday life. “Their self-will and power are the result of frequent campaigns, during which the husbands were forced to leave them full housewives in the house, and therefore showed them respect ... and even called them “ladies”.

The family in Sparta is monogamous, but extramarital relations were allowed for both husband and wife - remnants of group marriage. The birth of a child by a woman from a valiant warrior - a friend of her husband was welcomed by both the state and society, because. "... children grow up good, as long as their origin is good."

Plutarch says this about it: “Lycurgus decided that children belong not to parents, but to the whole state, and therefore he wanted citizens to be born not from just anyone, but from the best fathers and materials.”

2 Education of the Spartans

The upbringing of children was subordinated to one task - to prepare a strong and hardy warrior, at any moment ready to oppose the helots.

Therefore, education and training was one of the main state concerns and was carried out on a voluntary basis. “According to the laws of Lycurgus, all newborns were subjected to a special examination by the elders of the phylum. If they found the child strong and healthy, then he was given to his parents for feeding, immediately assigning him one of the allotments. If the child had any defect that would prevent him from becoming a full-fledged warrior in the future, he was killed, throwing apothetes, believing that his life was not needed either by himself or by the state, since he was denied health and strength from the very beginning. » .

Parents were not in the right to dispose of the upbringing of the child. As soon as the boys reached the age of seven, they were taken away from their parents and distributed into units - agels, where they lived together, played and worked, and the word "work" meant doing gymnastic exercises. Agela means herd. In this name, traces of the pastoral economy of the Dorians before their resettlement to Laconia are survivingly preserved. Thus the co-education system probably goes back as far as the time before the Dorian invasion of Laconia.

Children were brought up and taught by pedonoms - state educators, elected from among the most worthy Spartans. The chiefs of the agel - agelarchs - were boys of older age groups, distinguished by their prudence, quick wit and courage in fights. The children had to look up to them in everything, follow their orders, silently obey and silently endure punishment. Thus, the habit of strict discipline was brought up, which was considered the highest virtue. “Follow your leaders wherever they lead you, observing above all discipline and vigilance, and always follow the orders of the military leaders exactly. There is nothing more beautiful and reliable for a large army than to obey a single will and a single order.

Thus, all education was reduced to the requirements of unquestioning obedience, steadfastly endure hardships and prevail over the enemy. "They learned literacy only to the extent that it was impossible to do without it."

Children were taught to speak laconicly and aptly (“laconicism”), so that in their words “a caustic wit was mixed with grace so that short speeches evoked lengthy reflections” .

Upon reaching the age of 20, the young men received the full armament of the warriors and became members of one of the sissies. The upbringing of the Spartan continued into adulthood. Continuous training and camp life, maintained in peacetime, continued into old age.

The state took care of the education of not only boys, but also girls, since the Spartan community was interested in the fact that children were born healthy and strong and could become full-fledged warriors in the future. Despite the fact that the girls were brought up by their mothers, they also had to perform the same exercises as the boys: run, wrestle, throw a disc, throw spears, so that “.. the fetus in a healthy body develops healthy from the very beginning, and women themselves giving birth , simply and easily coped with the torment.

Thus, the whole life of the Spartans was subordinated to the interests of the paramilitary state, which contributed to the preservation of archaic features in everyday life.

State institutions of Sparta (according to the works of Plutarch and Aristotle)

1 The highest organs of state power in Sparta

sparta education state power

In Sparta, the political system embodied the basic principles of the polis structure and was characterized by the following features: the concentration of political life within the framework of the civil collective, the presence of the ancient form of property as the collective property of citizens, the close connection between the political and military organization of citizenship, the republican nature of the state system. In addition, in Sparta, the state system had a pronounced oligarchic character.

The state institutions of Sparta were: the apella - a meeting of citizens of the policy, the gerousia council of elders, the ephorate board of 5 elected persons, two archaetes of the king.

The highest body of state power in Sparta (as in any Greek policy) was the People's Assembly of all full-fledged Spartan citizens. The people's assembly - apella - approved peace treaties and declarations of war, elected officials, military commanders, decided on the inheritance of royal power, if there were no legitimate heirs, approved the release of the helots. Major changes in legislation also had to be approved by the Spartan apella. Participants in the appeal could only accept or reject bills, but not discuss them. Plutarch describes the organization of the work of the appella as follows: “In the People's Assemblies, no one had the right to express his opinion. The people could only accept or reject the proposals of the elders or kings.

Only members of the Council of Gerontes and ephors had the right to introduce a bill. The Spartan apella met irregularly, from time to time and by decision of officials. The meeting did not discuss financial issues, did not control the activities of magistrates, did not deal with court cases. Such an order of activity of the People's Assembly created favorable opportunities for the Spartan oligarchy to influence its work, to direct its activities in the right direction.

The Council of Gerontes, or Gerussia, played a decisive role in the government of Sparta. It consisted of 30 members. 28 were persons over 60 years old (in Greek, gerontes - old people, hence the name of the Council). Gerontes were elected from among the Spartan aristocracy and held positions for life.

Plutarch describes the procedure for electing geronts: “When the people had time to gather, the elected ones locked themselves in one room of a neighboring house, where they could not see anyone, just as no one could see them. They could only hear the cries of the assembled people: in this case, as in others, he decided the election by a cry. The elect did not come out at once, but one by one, by lot, and walked silently through the entire assembly. Those who sat locked in the room had writing boards in their hands, on which they noted only the strength of the cry, not knowing to whom it refers. They only had to write down how much they shouted to the one who was taken out first, second, third, etc. The one who was shouted more often and more strongly was declared the chosen one.

In addition to 28 gerontes, the Gerussia included two Spartan kings (regardless of age). Gerussia was not subordinated to or controlled by any body. It existed along with the People's Assembly, but was not accountable to it. Moreover, Gerussia had the right to cancel the decisions of the People's Assembly if it considered them incorrect for any reason. As a sovereign body of state power, Gerussia had almost unlimited competence, it met daily and managed all affairs, including military, financial, judicial. Gerussia could sentence to death, exile from the country, deprivation of civil rights, initiate prosecution even against the Spartan kings who were part of it. Gerussia received reports from the almighty ephors when they completed their office. Almost all the threads of state administration were concentrated in the hands of the gerontes or were under their control.

No less authoritative body of the Spartan state was a board of five ephors ("guards"). Ephors were elected for 1 year by an apella from the entire composition of the Spartans, and not from a narrow circle of the Spartan aristocracy, like the gerons. However, this legal rule was by no means always respected; it was common to elect representatives of noble families to ephors. The election of the ephors took place in Sparta in the same way as the gerontes, which Aristotle calls childish.

The college of ephors had enormous power, Aristotle compares the power of the Spartan ephors with the power of tyrants, the sole rulers of the Greek policies in the 4th century. BC e. . The year in Sparta was named after the elder ephor. The College of Ephors was considered an independent body from the Appella and Gerussia. The ephors were responsible for the strength and stability of Spartan legislation in general and therefore had the power to control the actions of officials. Great importance was attached to control over the activities of the Spartan kings. It was the ephors who were supposed to prevent the strengthening of royal power and the development of the Spartan oligarchy into a monarchy. According to the Spartan laws, the ephors once a month took the oath of the kings to observe the existing laws. Two ephors were obliged to accompany the kings during military campaigns, they sought to cause disagreement between the kings, believing that mutual suspicion and enmity would force the kings to control each other. The ephors had the right to bring the kings to the court of the gerussia, they could negotiate with the ambassadors of other states, convene and preside over the meetings of the appeal and even the gerussia. A very important function of the ephors was to monitor the entire system of Spartan education - the basis of the life and behavior of the Spartans. If they found any deviations, they brought to justice both officials and individual citizens.

These were the bodies of the Spartan oligarchy, which led all aspects of the life of Spartan society. Their small number made it possible to bribe the gerontes, which took place in the history of Sparta in the 5th-4th centuries. BC e. Thus, Aristotle reports that the ephors "were easily bribed." Abuses of power on the part of the ephors and gerontes were also facilitated by the fact that they were practically uncontrollable, bound by mutual responsibility and it was impossible to bring them to justice.

2 Institute of royal power. Military positions

One of the influential political institutions of Sparta was the institution of royal power. Sparta was ruled by two kings belonging to two dynasties - Agiad and Eurypontides. The origin of these dynasties dates back to ancient times, back to the time of the final settlement of the Dorians in Laconia in the 10th century. BC e. In the V-IV centuries. BC e, these dynasties were the two most noble and wealthy families among the Spartan aristocracy. The Spartan kings were not the bearers of the supreme sole power, and the Spartan political system was not a monarchy. Each king enjoyed the same power. Unlike the monarchs, the Spartan kings were subject to the will of the apella, the decisions of the gerusia, of which they were members as ordinary members, but they were subjected to especially strict and daily control by the collegium of ephors. Nevertheless, the Spartan kings had quite a lot of power, and their role in state affairs should not be underestimated. The prerogatives of the kings were the supreme military command and the leadership of a religious cult, and these state functions in the society of Sparta were of particular importance.

During military campaigns outside of Sparta, the power of the king as commander-in-chief was completely unlimited. The tsars were members of the Gerussia and, as such, took a real part in the decision of all state affairs. In addition, even in peacetime, the units of the Spartan army (pestilence, suckers, enomotii) retained their structure and, of course, they were dominated, if not legally, then in fact, by the authority of their commander in chief.

When the king was retinue, which constantly supported his political authority. Two Pythia accompanied the king, were present at his public meals, and it was them that the king sent to Delphi to the famous Delphic oracle. The growth of the authority of the kings was also facilitated by the performance of priestly functions. At public meals, the king was given a place of honor, a double portion, they received on certain days as an honorary offering the best animal and a prescribed amount of barley flour and wine, they appointed proxens, married heiress brides who had lost relatives.

The high authority of royal power was also manifested in the provision of special honors to the deceased king. “As for honors,” Xenophon wrote in the 4th century. BC, e., - rendered to the king after death, then from the laws of Lycurgus it is clear that the Lacedaemonian kings were honored not as ordinary people, but as heroes. With such a position of kings in the state, there was always a real danger of strengthening royal power, up to its transformation into a real monarchy. That is why the kings were given so much attention.

Spartan society was a militarized society, and therefore the role of the military element in government was high. The Spartan apella, as the supreme body, was a collection of Spartiate warriors.

The Spartan army had a well-thought-out organizational structure, including a large command corps, which enjoyed a certain political influence in society. One of the highest military positions was the position of navarch, commander of the Spartan fleet. The post of navarch was not permanent. Aristotle calls the navarchy "almost a second royal power", and he considers the navarchs as commanders and politicians to be the real rivals of the Spartan kings. It should be noted that, like the kings, the Spartan navarchs were under the constant control of the ephors. For example, the noble Spartiate Lysander, according to Plutarch, “the most powerful of the Greeks, a kind of ruler of all Greece”, who controlled the fate of a huge fleet, an impressive army, many cities, strictly followed all the instructions of the ephors, on their orders dutifully returned to Sparta, where with with great difficulty he was able to justify his actions.

The structure of the ground forces provided for a permanent staff of various military commanders. According to Xenophon, the command staff in Sparta was quite numerous. It included the commanders of the units into which the Spartan army was divided: the polemarchs commanding the mora (from 500 to 900 people), the lohags commanding the loch (from 150 to 200 people), the pentecosters commanding the pentecostia (from 50 to 60 people), and the enomotarchs, enomotie commanders (from 25 to 30 people). The polemarchs made up the closest retinue of the king and his military council, they were constantly near the king and even ate with him, were present at the sacrifices. The royal retinue also included selected soldiers who performed the functions of modern adjutants, fortunetellers, doctors, and flutists. Here were the Pythians, as well as the commanders of the allied detachments, mercenary units, and the chiefs of the convoys. Special officials helped the kings in managing the army: various military crimes were examined by Hellanodic judges, special treasurers helped manage finances, and lafiropolises were engaged in the sale of military booty. The royal person was guarded by a detachment of 300 "horsemen" - young Spartans (in fact, they were foot soldiers, the name is conditional), its three commanders - hippagreta - were part of the king's inner circle. There is little information in the sources about who appointed the numerous military commanders in the Spartan army and how such a well-functioning system operated in peacetime. It can be assumed that they were elected in the appellation (in the assembly of the same Spartiate warriors), but on the recommendation of the kings. A special place among the Spartan commanders was occupied by harmosts, appointed as the heads of the garrisons of Laconica or to the nearest islands of strategic importance, for example, to the island of Cythera.

In general, the Spartan state system as an oligarchic system was a combination of civil and military authorities, in which the power of the Spartan oligarchy was balanced by the authority of military commanders headed by the kings, with whom the Spartan Gerusia and the ephorate were forced to reckon.

The aristocratic nature of the state structure of Sparta was not a coincidence, but grew out of the peculiarities of socio-economic relations. The dominance of natural production, the weak development of crafts and trade, the military nature of Spartan society determined the originality of the political structure of Sparta, the increasing role of military administration and education, and the small number of civilian administration bodies proper.

Conclusion

As a result of studying the available sources and educational literature, we can draw the following conclusions about the state and social structure of Sparta:

The process of the formation of the Spartan state was preceded by a period of conquest of the territories, which were quite densely populated by the arrival of the Dorians-Spartiates. Due to the fact that the formation of the Spartan state took place in the conditions of aggressive campaigns, an extremely militarized state was formed, completely subordinated to the goals of capturing new lands and keeping those already captured in complete obedience.

How can one explain the features of the social and state system of Sparta? Let's point out the most important:

a) living surrounded by a numerically superior, sharply hostile mass of helots, the Spartans were forced to. turn your city into a permanent military camp. Power in the camp was to be held by a few;

b) the same danger was caused by the stubborn desire of the Spartan community to prevent the emergence of property inequality (and hence disagreements);

c) the agricultural nature of the community and the primitiveness of its internal structure prevented until a certain time the emergence of that social force that could take over the reorganization of society and the state on a democratic basis and accelerate the elimination of the remnants of the primitive communal system.

The political system of Sparta for its time, the time of the birth of the ancient Greek states, was a certain step forward, because it was a form of state organization of the dominant team. The main place in this organization was occupied by the military-political education of citizens.

List of used literature

1.Andreev Yu.V. Spartan "horsemen" // VDI. - 1969. - No. 4.

.Ancient Greece / Ed. Struve V.V. - Moscow: Science. - 1964. - 503 p.

.Kolobova K.M. Ancient Sparta in the XIV centuries. BC. Leningrad: Science. - 1957. - 440 p.

.Plutarch. Comparative biographies: In 3 volumes. Moscow: Academy of Sciences of the USSR. -1963. - T.2. - 546 p.

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