Plutarch and the Persica

This book connects Plutarch Studies and Achaemenid Studies by analyzing key texts, addressing historical mysteries related to the Persian Achaemenid Empire and Plutarch's biographies. It proposes a new approach to understanding the portrayal of ancient Persia and its reception and adaptation.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2020
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Bridges the gap between Plutarch Studies and Achaemenid Studies through analysis of key texts This book addresses two historical mysteries. The first is the content and character of the fourth century BCE Greek works on the Persian Achaemenid Empire treatises called the Persica. The second is the method of work of the second century CE biographer Plutarch of Chaeronea (CE 45-120) who used these works to compose his biographies, in particular the Life of the Persian king Artaxerxes. By dealing with both issues simultaneously, Almagor proposes a new way of approaching the two entangled problems, and offers a better understanding of both the portrayal of ancient Persia in the lost Persica works and the manner of their reception and adaptation nearly five hundred years later. Intended for both scholars and students of the Achaemenid Empire and Greek imperial literature, this book bridges the two worlds and two important branches of scholarship.

Weight: 538g
Dimension: 156 x 234 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474480154