A Commentary on Plutarch's Pericles
By Philip A. Stadter
504 pp., 5.25 x 8.5
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Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-6597-2
Published: May 2010 -
E-book PDF ISBN: 978-1-4696-1962-0
Published: December 2017
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In an extensive introduction, Stadter considers the broad questions of the biography's structure, its place and importance within Plutarch's body of literary works, and its relation to its companion piece, the Fabius Maximus. He discussed Plutarch's historical method and argues that the biographer's innovative and thorough use of sources, especially contemporary histories, make Pericles particularly valuable to modern scholars.
Examining the literary devices that shape and organize the work, Stadter analyzes the Greek text line by line. A detailed study of word usage and meaning complements grammatical and lexicographical notes that make the peculiarities of Plutarch's Greek accessible to readers unfamiliar with the original text.
This evaluation of Plutarch's biographical technique is exceptional in its combination of archaeological, epigraphical, and historical analysis. Pericles emerges from the discussion as a masterpiece of later Greek prose and biography. Stadter's thorough and insightful analysis secures the importance of this text as both a work of literature and a vivid depiction of the society, culture, and politics of fifth-century Athens.
Originally published in 1989.
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About the Author
Philip A. Stadter is professor of classics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His books include Arrian of Nicodemia and The Speeches of Thucydides: A Collection of Original Essays with a Bibliography.
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Reviews
"Provides what students of Plutarch and of the Periclean Age have long wanted: a judicious appraisal of the historical issues and a guide to the interpretation of the text that marks important progress over anything previously available."--D. A. Russell, St. John's College, Oxford