How much respect Plutarch enjoyed during his lifetime for his high knowledge and ability to speak can be seen from the following incident, which he himself writes about in his discussion of curiosity. “Once in Rome I spoke before many listeners, among whom was Rusticus, whom Domitian subsequently killed, jealous of his glory. A warrior arrives and gives him a letter from the emperor. There was silence, and I stopped talking in order to give him time to read the letter; however, Rustik did not want this and did not open the letter until after the end of the conversation - everyone was surprised at his firmness!
The Roman Senate erected an idol to him after his death. Agathius, the famous writer of inscriptions, wrote the following on one:
“The sons of Italy erected this idol for you, Plutarch, because in their descriptions you compared the brave Romans with the most glorious Greeks. But you yourself could not make a comparison of your life - there is no one like you.”
This poetic inscription will not seem inflated when we learn that many famous writers, many of the holy fathers extolled him with great praise.
Aulus Gellius attributes to him high knowledge in the sciences.
Taurus calls him the most learned and wise.
Eusebius ranks above all Greek philosophers.
Sardian calls him “the divine Plutarch,” “the ornament of philosophy.”
In his moral writings, Petrarch repeatedly calls him “the great Plutarch.”
Irigen, Imerius, Cyril, Theodorit, Svida, Photius, Xyphilinus, John of Salisbury, Victoria, Lipsius, Scaliger, Saint-Evremond, Montesquieu mention him with great praise.
Montaigne's testimony about Plutarch is curious because it lets us know what a great change his writings produced in France in the 16th century. We will quote his words (“Experiments.” Book II, Chapter 2):
"Among all French writers I give the palm - as it seems to me, with good reason - to Jacques Amiot... throughout his entire translation, Plutarch’s meaning is conveyed so excellently and consistently that either Amiot perfectly understood the author’s true intention, or he became so accustomed to Plutarch’s thoughts, was able to so clearly to assimilate his general mentality that nowhere, at least, does he attribute to him anything that would diverge from him or contradict him. But mostly I am grateful to him for finding and choosing a book so worthy and valuable to present as a gift to my fatherland. We ignoramuses would have been doomed to vegetation if this book had not rescued us from the darkness of ignorance in which we were mired.”
Let's see what the latest critics have to say about it.
Laharpe writes:
“Of all the biographers in the world, the most widely read and most worthy of reading is Plutarch. The very plan of his comparative biographies is the invention of a great mind regarding history and morality - a plan where two glorious men are presented from two nations, Roman and Greek, who have produced the most exemplary examples in the world. But nowhere is history so moralizing as in Plutarch... He is more concerned with people than with things, main subject his is the person whose life he describes, and in this regard he carries out his work with the greatest possible success, not collecting a lot of details, like Suetonius, but choosing the main features. And the comparisons that are the consequences of these are perfect articles of their kind: in them the high dignity of Plutarch both as a writer and as a philosopher is most visible. No one, no mortal had the right to hold in his hand the scales on which eternal truth weighs people and determines them true price. No one more guarded against brilliant and dazzling temptations, no one knew better how to catch what is useful and exhibit its dignity... His reasoning is a true treasure of wisdom and sound policy: they contain the best instructions for those who want to arrange their lives, public and even domestic, according to the rules of honesty, etc.”
Blair says in his Rhetoric:
“Plutarch distinguished himself in this type of writing; To him, for the most part, we owe everything that we know about the most glorious men of antiquity... His comparative biographies of glorious men will remain forever a precious store of useful instructions. Of the ancient writers, there are few equal to Plutarch in philanthropy and sensitivity, etc.”
Theodore Gaza, a most learned man, one of those Greeks who in the fifteenth century revived literature and science in Europe, had excellent respect for Plutarch. They once asked him which writer he would want to preserve in the event of the general extermination of all books? "Plutarch!" - he answered, considering his historical and moral works to be very useful for society.
Comparative biographies, which have reached us and have been published in Russian, are the following:
– Theseus and Romulus
– Lycurgus and Numa
– Solon and Poplicola
– Themistocles and Camillus
– Pericles and Fabius Maximus
– Alcibiades and Gaius Marcius
– Timoleon and Aemilius Paulus
– Pelopidas and Marcellus
– Aristides and Marcus Cato
– Philopoemen and Titus
– Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius
– Lysander and Sulla
– Cimon and Lucullus
– Nicias and Crassus
– Sertorius and Eumenes
– Agesilaus and Pompey
– Alexander and Caesar
– Phocion and Cato
– Agis and Cleomenes and Tiberius and Gaius Gracchi
– Demosthenes and Cicero
– Demetrius and Antony
– Dion and Brutus
– Artaxerxes
– Galba
The biographies have not reached us:
Epaminondas - Scipio Africanus - Augustus - Tiberius - Gaius Caesar - Vitellius - Hercules - Hesiod - Pindar - Aristomenes - Socrates and some others.
Plutarch's works have been transmitted to almost all modern European languages. The first translation was published in French during the restoration of Amyot's sciences during the reign of Henry II, in 1558*. This translation is still considered beautiful, despite its many errors and the great change in language. M. Dacier's translation, published after Amiot a hundred and fifty years later, when the French language had already reached perfection, did not in the least degrade the dignity of the former in the eyes of experts. Although Dacier's translation is more widely read, Amiot deserves our gratitude not only as a good translator, but, moreover, as a Hellenistic scholar who corrected the shortcomings of the original in many places. He traveled to Italy to find manuscripts, which he distinguished with great diligence. None of the translators of the prose author acquired such fame as Amiot acquired. It should not be forgotten that he translated all the works of Plutarch, Dacier translated only biographies.
From Amyot's translation, Plutarch was translated into English language during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. There was no other translation until Dryden's time. This great man humiliated himself by giving his glorious name to the imperfect work of many other translators. The public was deceived. This translation was, however, revised many times and republished after comparison with Dacier's translation in 1728. After that, it was again cleared of many errors and published in 1758. Despite all this, Plutarch’s biographies were, one might say, mutilated. Finally, two brothers, John and William Langhorne, translated the biographies from the Greek original. In 1805 there was a ninth edition of their translation.
On German several translations of Plutarch. Kaltwasser's translation, published in 1799, deserves special attention.
Russian literature is enriched daily the most useful books, translated from different languages. It seems that the time has come in which everyone abandons reading useless books in order to engage in those that contribute to human education. In this era, in which Homer, Virgil, Tacitus, Sallust and other great writers, exemplary in their kind, find worthy translators, it is surprising that Plutarch, perhaps the most useful of all, is forgotten, Plutarch, who glorified a good translator when only had it. Didn't Amyot deserve to be among the educators with his good translation of Plutarch? French? The reason that Plutarch has not been translated into Russian must be an unforgivable disregard for Greek language, which Russians learn less than all enlightened peoples. Perhaps the numerous works of Plutarch frightened lovers of literature who were busy with the most important matters.
I really feel that the more famous and famous the writer, the more they demand from the translator; I also feel that with my zeal and hard work I cannot hope for fame even as a mediocre translator, because Russian is not my native language, but was acquired by me through constant and long-term work. However, seeing how large the number of mediocre translators is and that they are often tolerated by the public due to the lack of better ones, I dared to enter a dangerous field. No matter how bad my translation is, I thought, it is quite faithful, as close as possible to the original - an important virtue, especially when it is allowed best authors, ancient and new, translated from French, not always good translations! Plutarch himself did not escape the harsh fate of being translated from the French translation. This translation brings no benefit or pleasure to anyone, but my works will help some very skilled translator translate Plutarch more accurately. Over the course of four years, I published several selected biographies for the experience. They were honored by the most merciful His Imperial Majesty, and many persons, known for their learning, no less than the celebrity of their rank, assured me that my translation was not disgusting to them.
Encouraged by this favorable response, I received new strength to continue the long and difficult task - I decided to translate both the lives of Plutarch and the best of his other works. I consider it a duty of gratitude to work for the society to which I owe my education. But with all my desire to translate the works of Plutarch, being almost at the end of my feat, I admit that for the glory of this great man, for the benefit of Russian literature, for the greater pleasure of reading lovers, I would decide - after five years of work - to give up my undertaking, if only made sure that a more skilled person was engaged in such translation.
It would be unnecessary to talk about the difficulties encountered in translations from ancient languages; These are varied and concern more scientists. The most important of them comes from the difference in morals, ancient and ours. Although a person is always a person, but in different times, under different circumstances, his concepts of things, feelings and passions are subject to various changes, which present this chameleon as if in a different form. From this it happens that the works of other peoples, and even our people, written over several centuries, seem strange to us; we find in them expressions and thoughts that are unpleasant to us only because they are not ours; we say that they have no taste, no purity of morals, because pride assures us that our taste is the best. How much more careful we would be in our judgments if, by some miracle, we could predict what opinion our descendants will have about the works that are famous in our time! How many writers who surprised their contemporaries became the laughing stock of posterity! For this reason, we must moderate the severity with which we judge some of the shortcomings discovered in ancient writers, and, if possible, ignore passages that are contrary to our concepts. Such places are all the more visible the more our morals lag behind those of the ancients and the less we know their way of thinking. Russians, unlike those who can receive the most careful education, study little about ancient languages, not considering them the basis of their learning. And for this reason, the writings of the ancients in Russian are not always successful, although the language itself is more capable than others newest languages to such translations.
You can sometimes soften expressions that are too disgusting to our ears, but transforming your author, now adding, now cutting off, is not the job of the translator, who, in my opinion, should not hide the very shortcomings of his writer, for fidelity is his first duty. If every translator decides to correct his author in his own way, then what a variety there will be in translations! How different each translation will be from the original! It should not be forgotten that some curious readers want to have the author as he is, in order to better know the spirit that prevailed in the century in which he wrote.
I must say something about the use of Greek and Latin names. The Russians, having adopted faith, writing and several concepts of historical, philosophical and other things from the Greeks, retained in all foreign names Greek accent of the 10th century. So, for example, they say: “Abraham”, not “Abraham”; “Theodosius”, not “Theodosius”, “Cilicia”, not “Cilicia”. Latin names were pronounced following the example of the Greeks, saying “Caesar” instead of “Caesar”, “Patricius” instead of “Patrician”. This is how Russians used these names until the 18th century, when they began to borrow many concepts from Europeans who adhered to the Latin accent. Many began to use Latin, but others followed the example of Greek Slavic books. Soon some, not caring about either Greek or Latin, followed the French accent; and they write: “Simon”, “Eshil” and so on. Who recognizes “Cimon”, or “Cimon”, and “Aeschylus” in this reprimand? Is it forgivable to spoil names and confuse the reader who might assume an Athenian?
Cimon for the Jew Simon? It may happen that in a Russian book we will find: Cesar, Thucidide, Aristot, Ambroise - and not recognize these great men. As for me, I followed the pronunciation previously used by the Russians, and deviated from it only in such cases when a name could only be recognized by a Latin pronunciation. So, for example, I write: “Theseus”, “Ajax”, and not “Physei”, “Eant”, in all other cases observing the Greek accent, although it already seems strange to many. However, those who want us to write: “Demosthenes”, “Themistocles”, “Lesvos”, let them themselves begin to write: “Athenes”, “You”, etc. instead of “Athena”, “Thebes” and so on .
In an effort to make this book more useful to readers, especially those who are not very familiar with ancient history, I enriched it with comments from Dacier, Mezerail, Clavier, Ruald, Corai, the Langora brothers and some others. My comments are very few.
Some readers may be warned not to judge all the works of Plutarch by the first two biographies, which, being mostly fabulous, cannot satisfy strict lovers of truth.
Spyridon Destunis
THESEUS AND ROMULUS
[Translation by S.P. Markisha]
1. Just as learned men, working on a description of lands, push everything that eludes their knowledge to the very edges of the map, marking in the margins: “Next are waterless sands and wild animals,” or: “Swamps of Darkness,” or: “Scythian frosts.” , or: “The Arctic Sea”, in the same way, for me, Sosius Senetsion, in working on comparative biographies, having passed through times that are accessible to thorough study and serving as a subject for history, occupied with genuine events, it would be possible to say about a more ancient time: “Next miracles and tragedies, a haven for poets and mythographers, where there is no place for authenticity and accuracy.” But since we published the story about the legislator Lycurgus and King Numa, we considered it reasonable to go as far as Romulus, finding ourselves very close to his time in the course of the story. And so, when I thought, in the words of Aeschylus,
Who will go to battle with such a husband?
Who should I send? Who can match his strength?
It seemed to me that the founder of the beautiful, universally praised Athens should be compared and compared with the father of the invincible and illustrious Rome. I would like fairy-tale fiction to submit to reason and accept appearances real history. If in some places he turns his back on plausibility with willful contempt and does not even want to approach it, we ask the kind reader to treat these stories about antiquity with leniency.
2. So, it seemed to me that Theseus was in many ways similar to Romulus. Both were born secretly and out of wedlock, both were attributed divine origin,
Both are most glorious warriors, we are all convinced of that,
both have strength combined with wisdom. One founded Rome, the other Athens - two of the most famous cities in the world. Both are woman kidnappers. Neither one nor the other escaped family disasters and grief in private life, and in the end, they say, they acquired the hatred of their fellow citizens - of course, if some legends, the least fabulous, are able to show us the path to the truth.
3. The family of Theseus on his father’s side goes back to Erechtheus and the first indigenous inhabitants of Attica, and on his mother’s side – to Pelops. Pelop rose to prominence among the Peloponnesian sovereigns thanks not so much to his wealth as to his numerous offspring: he married many of his daughters to the most noble citizens, and put his sons at the head of many cities. One of them, Pittheus, the grandfather of Theseus, who founded the small city of Troezen, enjoyed the fame of the most learned and wisest man of his time. The example and pinnacle of such wisdom were, apparently, the sayings of Hesiod, primarily in his “Works and Days”; one of them is reported to have belonged to Pittheus:
The friend is always guaranteed a negotiated payment.
The philosopher Aristotle also holds this opinion. And Euripides, calling Hippolytus “the pet of the immaculate Pittheus,” shows how high the respect was for the latter.
Aegeus, who wanted to have children, received a well-known prediction from the Pythia: God inspired him not to have relations with any woman until he arrived in Athens. But this was not expressed entirely clearly, and therefore, having come to Troezen, Aegeus told Pittheus about the divine broadcast, which sounded like this:
Do not untie the lower end of the wineskin, mighty warrior,
Before you visit the people of the borders of Athens.
Pittheus understood what was going on, and either convinced him or forced him by deception to get along with Etra. Learning that this was the daughter of Pittheus, and believing that she had carried the child, Aegeus departed, leaving in Troezen his sword and sandals hidden under a huge stone with a recess large enough to contain both. He opened himself only to Etra and asked her, if a son was born and, having matured, he could roll away the stone and get what was hidden, send the young man with a sword and sandals to him, but so that no one knew about it, keeping everything in the deepest secret: Aegeus is very he was afraid of the machinations of the Pallantids (those were the fifty sons of Pallant), who despised him for being childless.
4. Aethra gave birth to a son, and some claim that he was named Theseus immediately, according to a treasure with noticeable signs, others - that later, in Athens, when Aegeus recognized him as his son. While he was growing up with Pittheus, his mentor and educator was Connides, to whom the Athenians to this day, on the day before the feast of Theseus, sacrifice a ram - a memory and honor much more deserved than those given to the sculptor Silanion and the painter Parrhasius, creators of images of Theseus .
5. Back then it was still customary for boys to leave childhood, went to Delphi and dedicated the first roots of their hair to God. He visited Delphi and Theseus (they say that there is a place there that is now called Theseus - in his honor), but he cut his hair only at the front, as, according to Homer, abantians cut their hair, and this type of haircut was called “Theseus”. The Abantes were the first to start cutting their hair this way, and did not learn from the Arabs, as some people think, and did not imitate the Mysians. They were a warlike people, masters of close combat, and were the best at hand-to-hand combat, as Archilochus testifies in the following lines:
It is not slings that whistle, nor arrows from countless bows.
They will rush into the distance when the battle begins on the plain
Ares the mighty: a work of many-stoned swords will break out.
In a battle like this they are most experienced -
Men-rulers of Euboea, glorious spearmen...
And so, so that their enemies could not grab them by the hair, they cut their hair short. For these same reasons, undoubtedly, Alexander the Great ordered, they say, his military commanders to shave the Macedonians’ beards, to which the hands of opponents were drawn in battle.
6. During all this time, Aethra hid the true origin of Theseus, and Pittheus spread the rumor that she had given birth to Poseidon. The fact is that the Troezenians especially honor Poseidon, this is their guardian god, they dedicate the first fruits of fruits to him and mint a trident on coins. Theseus was still very young when, along with the strength of his body, courage, prudence, a strong and at the same time lively mind were revealed in him, and Etra, leading him to the stone and revealing the secret of his birth, ordered him to get the identification marks left by his father, and sail to Athens. The young man slipped under a stone and easily lifted it, but refused to swim by sea, despite the safety of the journey and the requests of his grandfather and mother. Meanwhile, getting to Athens by land was difficult: at every step the traveler faced the danger of dying at the hands of a robber or villain. That age produced people whose power of arms, speed of legs and strength of body apparently exceeded ordinary human capabilities, tireless people, but who did not turn their natural advantages into anything useful or good; on the contrary, they enjoyed their brazen riot, gave vent to their powers in savagery and ferocity, in murder and reprisal against anyone they met, and, believing that for the most part mortals praise conscience, justice and humanity, only not daring to commit violence themselves and fearing to be subjected to it, they were sure that none of these qualities belonged to those who were superior in power to others. Wandering around the world, Hercules exterminated some of them, the rest fled in horror at his approach, hid and, eking out a miserable existence, were forgotten by everyone. When trouble befell Hercules and, having killed Iphitus, he retired to Lydia, where he served for a long time as a slave to Omphale, having imposed such punishment on himself for murder, peace and serene calm reigned among the Lydians, but in the Greek lands atrocities broke out again and blossomed magnificently: there was no one to suppress or curb them. That is why the journey on foot from the Peloponnese to Athens threatened with death, and Pittheus, telling Theseus about each of the robbers and villains individually, about what they were like and what they were doing to strangers, convinced his grandson to go by sea. But Theseus, apparently, had long been secretly worried about the glory of Hercules: the young man had the greatest respect for him and was always ready to listen to those who spoke about the hero, especially eyewitnesses, witnesses of his deeds and sayings. He experienced, undoubtedly, the same feelings that Themistocles experienced much later, admitting that the trophy of Miltiades was depriving him of sleep. So Theseus, who admired the valor of Hercules, dreamed of his exploits at night, and during the day he was haunted by jealousy and rivalry, directing his thoughts to one thing - how to accomplish the same thing as Hercules.
The most valuable in the creative heritage of Plutarch of Chaeronea (c. 45 - c. 127) are the biographies of outstanding statesmen and public figures Greece and Rome. ... Outstanding historians of Greece and Rome, compiling a biography of a historical figure, sought to present his life chronologically and consistently. Plutarch sought to write detailed history“about events, to avoid a pile of incoherent stories, to present what is necessary to understand the way of thinking and the character of a person.”
“Comparative Lives” are biographies of great figures of the Greco-Roman world, combined in pairs. After each of them, a small “Comparison” is given - a kind of conclusion. 46 paired biographies and four biographies for which pairs have not been found have survived to this day. Each pair included a biography of a Greek and a Roman, in whose fate and character the historian saw certain similarities. He was interested in the psychology of his heroes, based on the fact that man has an inherent desire for good and this quality should be strengthened in every possible way through the study of noble deeds famous people. Plutarch sometimes idealizes his heroes, notes them best features, believing that errors and shortcomings do not need to be covered with “all eagerness and detail.” Many events ancient history We know Greece and Rome, first of all, as presented by Plutarch. The historical framework in which his characters lived and acted is very wide, from mythological times to last century BC e.
Plutarch’s “comparative biographies” are of great importance for the knowledge of the ancient history of Greece and Rome, since many of the works of writers from which he drew information have not reached us, and his writings are the only information about many historical events, their participants and witnesses.
Plutarch left to his descendants a majestic “portrait gallery” of famous Greeks and Romans. He dreamed of the revival of Hellas, sincerely believing that his instructions would be taken into account and implemented in public life Greece. He hoped that his books would arouse the desire to imitate wonderful people who selflessly loved their homeland, were distinguished by high moral principles. The thoughts, hopes, and wishes of the great Greek have not lost their significance in our time, two millennia later.
Almost all of Plutarch’s “Comparative Lives” are built approximately according to the same scheme: it tells about the origin of the hero, his family, youth, education, his activities and death. Thus, the whole life of a person passes before us, depicted in a moral and psychological aspect, highlighting some aspects that are important for the author’s intention.
Very often, moral reflections precede the hero’s biography and are concentrated in the first chapters. Sometimes the biography closes with a detailed conclusion with an address to a friend ("", chapter 31), and sometimes the end ends unexpectedly ("Alexander", chapter 56), as if symbolizing the accidental and untimely death of a brilliant, glorious life.
Some biographies are filled to the limit with entertaining anecdotes and aphorisms.
One has only to recall the witty responses of the gymnosophists to Alexander the Great (Alexander, Chapter 64), cited by Plutarch, the dying words of Demosthenes (Chapter 29), the warrior Callicrates in the battle of Plataea (“It is not death that saddens me, but it is bitter to die without communicating with the enemies ", "Aristides", ch. 17) or Crassus (ch. 30), as well as a conversation Brutus with a ghost in front decisive battle("Caesar", ch. 69), lyrics Caesar about the deceased Cicero(“Cicero”, ch. 49) or words about the honesty of the commander addressed by Aristides to Themistocles (“Aristides” ch. 24).
Bust of Plutarch in his hometown, Chaeronea
In his Comparative Lives, Plutarch strives to highlight the most striking features in the character of not only a person, but even an entire people. Thus, he emphasizes Alcibiades’s ability to adapt to any circumstances (“Alcibiades,” ch. 23), the nobility of young Demetrius, who saved Mithridates with his resourcefulness (“Demetrius,” ch. 4), the passionate rivalry of the Greeks after the Battle of Plataea, when they were ready kill each other for the spoils, and then generously gave them to the citizens of Plataea (“Aristides,” ch. 20), the spontaneous riot of the Roman crowd burying Caesar (“Brutus,” ch. 20).
Plutarch is a master of psychological detail, memorable and often even symbolic. He appreciates inner beauty a person, unhappy, tortured and who has lost all his outer charm (“Antony”, chapters 27 and 28 about Cleopatra). The whole love story of Cleopatra and Antony is full of these surprisingly subtle observations (for example, chapters 67, 78, 80, 81). And how symbolic is the burning of the murdered Pompey at the stake of rotten boats or the gesture of Caesar, who took the ring from the messenger with the head of Pompey, but turned away from him (“Pompey”, ch. 80). Or the following details: Caesar swims without letting go of his hands notebooks(“Caesar”, ch. 49); he himself unclenched the fingers that grabbed the dagger, seeing that Brutus was killing him (“Brutus”, ch. 17), and Cicero himself stretched his neck under the blow of the sword, and he, the great writer, was cut off not only his head, but also his hands (“Cicero ", ch. 48).
Plutarch is a keen observer, but in his Comparative Lives he is able to paint with powerful strokes a broad tragic canvas. Such are, for example, the death of Anthony in the tomb of Cleopatra (“Antony”, ch. 76-77), the grief of the queen (ibid., ch. 82-83), her suicide in the luxurious robes of the mistress of Egypt (ibid., ch. 85) or the death of Caesar (his murderers, in a frenzy, began to strike each other; “Caesar,” ch. 66) and Demosthenes, who accepted poison with dignity (“Demosthenes,” ch. 29). Plutarch does not forget to assure his readers that the tragic events were prepared by the gods, which is why he has so many omens (for example, Anthony assumes his death, since the god Dionysus and his retinue left him; “Antony,” ch. 75), prophetic fortune-telling (“ Caesar,” ch. 63), miraculous signs (“Caesar,” ch. 69 – the appearance of a comet) and actions (“Alexander,” ch. 27: ravens lead the Greek troops).
All the tragedy human life is depicted in the biographies of Plutarch as the result of vicissitudes and at the same time the laws of fate. So, the Great Pompey is buried by two people - his old soldier and a slave who was set free ("Pompey", chapter 80). Sometimes it is even said that a person going to death is guided not by reason, but by a demon (ibid., Chapter 76). Plutarch's fate laughs at man, and the great perish at the hands of insignificance (the death of Pompey depends on a eunuch, a teacher of rhetoric and a hired soldier; ibid., ch. 77); from the one whom they themselves once saved (Cicero is killed by the tribune whom he once defended; “Cicero”, ch. 48); The Parthians are transporting the dead Crassus in a convoy along with harlots and hetaeras, and, as if parodying the triumphal procession of the Roman commander, ahead of this convoy rides a captive soldier dressed as Crassus (Crassus, chapter 32). Anthony, boasting, exposed the head and hands of the murdered Cicero, but the Romans saw in this atrocity “the image of Anthony’s soul” (“Cicero”, ch. 49). That is why in Plutarch’s “Comparative Lives” the death of a person, directed by fate, is completely natural, just as the retribution of fate, rewarding an evil deed, is natural (“Crassus”, ch. 33, “Pompey”, ch. 80, “Antony”, ch. 81, “Cicero,” chapter 49, “Demosthenes,” chapter 31, which directly speaks of Justice avenging Demosthenes).
Plutarch has not only the ability to understand and depict life in the aspect of heroic, harsh and gloomy pathos, he knows how to give his canvases the radiance and brilliance of luxurious decorativeness: for example, Cleopatra’s swimming along Cydnus amid the ecstasy of love, refinement of feelings and abundance of happiness (“Antony”, ch. 26) or the splendor of the triumph of a Roman general (“ Emilius Pavel", Ch. 32-34).
However, Plutarch not only uses the techniques of decorative painting. He understands (as did many writers of the Hellenistic-Roman world, such as Polybius, Lucian) human life itself as a kind of theatrical performance, when, at the behest of Fate or Chance, bloody dramas and funny comedies are played out. Thus, Plutarch emphasizes that the murder of Caesar took place next to the statue of Pompey, who was once killed due to rivalry with Caesar (“Caesar”, ch. 66). Plutarch's Crassus dies helplessly and even almost by accident, ironically becoming a participant in a genuine theatrical performance: the head of Crassus is thrown onto the stage during the production of “The Bacchae” by Euripides, and it is perceived by everyone as the head of Prince Pentheus, torn to pieces by the Bacchae (“Crassus”, ch. 33). Plutarch's Demosthenes has a dream before his death in which he competes with his pursuer Archius in a tragic game. As Plutarch meaningfully conveys the subconscious feeling of a man who has lost his life’s work: “And although he (Demosthenes) plays beautifully and the whole theater is on his side, due to the poverty and meagerness of the production, victory goes to the enemy” (“Demosthenes”, ch. 29). “Fate and History,” according to the author, transfers the action “from the comic scene to the tragic” (“Demetrius, ch. 28), and Plutarch accompanies the completion of one life story and the transition to another with the following remark: “So, the Macedonian drama has been played, it’s time to stage to the Roman stage” (ibid., chapter 53).
- one of the heroes of Plutarch's Comparative Lives
Thus, in “Comparative Lives” the narration is led by an intelligent and skillful narrator, not a moralist who bothers the reader, but a kind and indulgent mentor who does not burden his listener with deep learning, but strives to captivate him with expressiveness and entertainment, a sharp word, a well-timed anecdote, psychological details, colorful and decorative presentation. It is worth adding that Plutarch’s style is distinguished by noble restraint. The author does not fall into strict atticism and, as if focusing on the living diversity of the linguistic element, at the same time does not plunge into it recklessly. In this regard, noteworthy is Plutarch’s short sketch “Comparison of Aristophanes and Menander“, where the writer’s sympathy for Menander’s style is clearly felt. The words addressed to this beloved Hellenistic comedian can also be applied to Plutarch himself: “Whatever passion, whatever character, whatever style it expresses and to whatever diverse persons it is applied, it always remains one and retains its homogeneity, despite the fact that that uses the most common and common words, those words that are on everyone’s tongue,” and this style, being homogeneous, “is nevertheless suitable for any character, for any mood, for any age.”
[Translation by S.P. Markisha]
Theseus
1. Just as learned men, working on a description of lands, push everything that eludes their knowledge to the very edges of the map, marking in the margins: “Next are waterless sands and wild animals,” or: “Swamps of Darkness,” or: “Scythian frosts.” , or: “The Arctic Sea”, in the same way, for me, Sosius Senetsion, in working on comparative biographies, having passed through times that are accessible to thorough study and serving as a subject for history, occupied with genuine events, it would be possible to say about a more ancient time: “Next miracles and tragedies, a haven for poets and mythographers, where there is no place for authenticity and accuracy.” But since we published the story about the legislator Lycurgus and King Numa, we considered it reasonable to go as far as Romulus, finding ourselves very close to his time in the course of the story. And so, when I thought, in the words of Aeschylus,
It seemed to me that the founder of the beautiful, universally praised Athens should be compared and compared with the father of the invincible and illustrious Rome. I would like fairy-tale fiction to submit to reason and take on the appearance of real history. If in some places he turns his back on plausibility with willful contempt and does not even want to approach it, we ask the kind reader to treat these stories about antiquity with leniency.
Who will go to battle with such a husband?
Who should I send? Who can match his strength?
2. So, it seemed to me that Theseus was in many ways similar to Romulus. Both were born secretly and out of wedlock, both were attributed divine origin,
both have strength combined with wisdom. One founded Rome, the other Athens - two of the most famous cities in the world. Both are woman kidnappers. Neither one nor the other escaped family disasters and grief in private life, and in the end, they say, they acquired the hatred of their fellow citizens - of course, if some legends, the least fabulous, are able to show us the path to the truth.
3. The family of Theseus on his father’s side goes back to Erechtheus and the first indigenous inhabitants of Attica, and on his mother’s side to Pelops. Pelop rose to prominence among the Peloponnesian sovereigns thanks not so much to his wealth as to his numerous offspring: he married many of his daughters to the most noble citizens, and put his sons at the head of many cities. One of them, Pittheus, the grandfather of Theseus, who founded the small city of Troezen, enjoyed the fame of the most learned and wisest man of his time. The example and pinnacle of such wisdom were, apparently, the sayings of Hesiod, primarily in his “Works and Days”; one of them is reported to have belonged to Pittheus:
The philosopher Aristotle also holds this opinion. And Euripides, calling Hippolytus “the pet of the immaculate Pittheus,” shows how high the respect was for the latter.
Aegeus, who wanted to have children, received a well-known prediction from the Pythia: God inspired him not to have relations with any woman until he arrived in Athens. But this was not expressed entirely clearly, and therefore, having come to Troezen, Aegeus told Pittheus about the divine broadcast, which sounded like this:
Pittheus understood what was going on, and either convinced him or forced him by deception to get along with Etra. Learning that this was the daughter of Pittheus, and believing that she had carried the child, Aegeus departed, leaving in Troezen his sword and sandals hidden under a huge stone with a recess large enough to contain both. He opened himself only to Etra and asked her, if a son was born and, having matured, he could roll away the stone and get what was hidden, send the young man with a sword and sandals to him, but so that no one knew about it, keeping everything in the deepest secret: Aegeus is very he was afraid of the machinations of the Pallantids (these were the fifty sons of Pallant), who despised him for being childless.
Do not untie the lower end of the wineskin, mighty warrior,
Before you visit the people of the borders of Athens.
4. Aethra gave birth to a son, and some claim that he was named Theseus immediately, according to a treasure with noticeable signs, others - that later, in Athens, when Aegeus recognized him as his son. While he was growing up with Pittheus, his mentor and educator was Connides, to whom the Athenians to this day, on the day before the feast of Theseus, sacrifice a ram - a memory and honor much more deserved than those given to the sculptor Silanion and the painter Parrhasius, creators of images of Theseus .
5. At that time it was still customary for boys, leaving childhood, to go to Delphi and dedicate the first roots of their hair to God. He visited Delphi and Theseus (they say that there is a place there that is now called Theseus - in his honor), but he cut his hair only at the front, as, according to Homer, abantes were cut, and this type of haircut was called “Theseus”. The Abantes were the first to start cutting their hair this way, and did not learn from the Arabs, as some people think, and did not imitate the Mysians. They were a warlike people, masters of close combat, and were the best at hand-to-hand combat, as Archilochus testifies in the following lines:
And so, so that their enemies could not grab them by the hair, they cut their hair short. For these same reasons, undoubtedly, Alexander the Great ordered, they say, his military commanders to shave the Macedonians’ beards, to which the hands of opponents were drawn in battle.
It is not slings that whistle, nor arrows from countless bows.
They will rush into the distance when the battle begins on the plain
Ares the mighty: a work of many-stoned swords will break out.
In a battle like this they are most experienced -
Men-rulers of Euboea, glorious spearmen...
6. During all this time, Aethra hid the true origin of Theseus, and Pittheus spread the rumor that she had given birth to Poseidon. The fact is that the Troezenians especially honor Poseidon, this is their guardian god, they dedicate the first fruits of fruits to him and mint a trident on coins. Theseus was still very young when, along with the strength of his body, courage, prudence, a strong and at the same time lively mind were revealed in him, and Etra, leading him to the stone and revealing the secret of his birth, ordered him to get the identification marks left by his father, and sail to Athens. The young man slipped under a stone and easily lifted it, but refused to swim by sea, despite the safety of the journey and the requests of his grandfather and mother. Meanwhile, getting to Athens by land was difficult: at every step the traveler faced the danger of dying at the hands of a robber or villain. That age produced people whose power of arms, speed of legs and strength of body apparently exceeded ordinary human capabilities, tireless people, but who did not turn their natural advantages into anything useful or good; on the contrary, they enjoyed their brazen riot, gave vent to their powers in savagery and ferocity, in murder and reprisal against anyone they met, and, considering that for the most part mortals praise conscience, justice and humanity, only not daring to commit violence themselves and fearing to be subjected to it, they were sure that none of these qualities belonged to those who were superior in power to others. Wandering around the world, Hercules exterminated some of them, the rest fled in horror at his approach, hid and, dragging out a miserable existence, were forgotten by everyone. When trouble befell Hercules and he, having killed Iphitus, retired to Lydia, where he served for a long time as a slave to Omphale, having imposed such punishment on himself for murder, peace and serene calm reigned among the Lydians, but in the Greek lands atrocities broke out again and blossomed magnificently: there was no one to suppress or curb them. That is why the journey on foot from the Peloponnese to Athens threatened with death, and Pittheus, telling Theseus about each of the robbers and villains individually, about what they were like and what they were doing to strangers, convinced his grandson to go by sea. But Theseus, apparently, had long been secretly worried about the glory of Hercules: the young man had the greatest respect for him and was always ready to listen to those who spoke about the hero, especially eyewitnesses, witnesses of his deeds and sayings. He experienced, undoubtedly, the same feelings that Themistocles experienced much later, admitting that the trophy of Miltiades was depriving him of sleep. So Theseus, who admired the valor of Hercules, dreamed of his exploits at night, and during the day he was haunted by jealousy and rivalry, directing his thoughts to one thing - how to accomplish the same thing as Hercules.
7. They were related by blood, for they were born from cousins: Ethra was the daughter of Pittheus, Alcmene - Lysidice, and Pittheus and Lysidice were brother and sister, the children of Hippodamia and Pelops. Therefore, Theseus considered it an unbearable shame, while Hercules went against the villains everywhere, clearing both land and sea of them, to evade the battles that themselves await him on the way, by fleeing by sea to humiliate the god whom rumor calls his father, but to the real father simply to deliver noticeable signs - sandals and a sword unstained by blood - instead of immediately discovering the stamp of one's origin in glorious and high deeds.
Having reasoned this way, he set off on the road with the intention not to offend anyone, but not to give permission or mercy to the instigators of violence. (8.). And first of all, in the Epidaurus land, he had the opportunity to encounter Periphetus, whose weapon was a club (he was called “Palace-Bearing”); Periphetus detained Theseus and tried to prevent him from going further, but was killed. Theseus fell in love with the club, he took it with him and from then on constantly used it in battles, like Hercules used a lion's skin: Hercules carried on his shoulders evidence of how great the beast was, which he overpowered, Theseus's club seemed to announce: “My new the master has overcome me, but in his hands I am invincible.”
On Isthmus, he executed Sinid, the bender of pine trees, in the same way that Sinid killed many travelers. Having neither skill nor experience in this matter, Theseus proved that natural valor is higher than any careful training. Sinid had a daughter named Perigune, very beautiful and of enormous stature. She fled, and Theseus looked for her everywhere. Huddled in dense thickets of stems and wild asparagus, Perigune innocently, quite childishly prayed to these plants - as if they could hear and understand - to shelter her and save her and vowed never to break or burn them again. But Theseus called her, assuring her that he would take care of her and would not cause her any harm, and she went out; She gave birth to a son, Melanippus, from Theseus, and subsequently was the wife of the Echalian Deioneus, the son of Eurytus, to whom Theseus married her. From Melanippus, the son of Theseus, Iox was born, who helped Ornitus lead the settlers to Caria. That is why the descendants of Ioxus, from time immemorial, had a custom not to burn either the stems or the spines of wild asparagus, but to deeply honor them.
9. The Crommion pig, nicknamed Fay, was a warlike and ferocious wild animal, and was by no means a trivial opponent. In passing, Theseus waylaid her and killed her, so that it would not seem as if he performed all his exploits out of necessity; in addition, he believed that a brave man should take up arms against unworthy people only in response to their hostile actions, but a noble beast should be the first to attack, regardless of the danger. Some, however, claim that Faye was a robber, bloodthirsty and unbridled; She lived there, in Crommion, she was nicknamed “Pig” for her vile disposition and way of life, and Theseus allegedly killed her.
10. Near the borders of Megaris, Theseus killed Sciron by throwing him off a cliff. They usually say that Sciron robbed passers-by, but there is another opinion - that he recklessly and brazenly stretched out the legs of strangers and ordered them to wash them, and when they got down to business, he pushed them into the sea with a blow of his heel. However, Megarian writers dispute this rumor, “they are at war with antiquity,” in the words of Simonides, insisting that Sciron was neither an insolent nor a robber, on the contrary, he punished robbers and was in kinship and friendship with noble and fair people. After all, Aeacus is considered the most pious of the Greeks, Cychreus of Salamis is given divine honors in Athens, everyone knows the valor of Peleus and Telamon, and meanwhile Skiron is the son-in-law of Cychreus, the father-in-law of Aeacus, the grandfather of Peleus and Telamon, born of Endeis, daughter of Sciron and Charicles O. It is incredible that the best of the best would intermarrie with the lowest and meanest, give to him and, in turn, accept from his hands the greatest and most precious gift! Theseus killed Sciron, these writers conclude, not on his first trip, on the road to Athens, but later, when he took Eleusis from the Megarians, deceiving the local ruler Diocles. Such are the contradictions in the legends about Sciron.
11. In Eleusis, Theseus killed Kerkyon, defeating him in a fight, then, not much further, in Herma, Damaste the Stretcher, forcing him to match the length of the bed, exactly as he treated his guests. In doing this, Theseus imitated Hercules. Hercules executed the attackers with the same execution that they were preparing for him: he sacrificed Busirida to the gods, defeated Antheus, killed Cycnus in a duel, and broke Termer's skull. This is where, as they say, the saying about Termer's disaster came about, for Termer struck those he met to death with a blow to his head. In this way, Theseus also punished the villains, who suffered from him only the torment that they subjected others to, and who bore fair retribution to the extent of their own injustice.
12. Then he went further, and at the river Cephisus he was met by men from the Phitalid family. They were the first to greet him and, having listened to his request for purification, performed the required rites, made propitiatory sacrifices, and then treated him in their house - and until then he had not yet met a single hospitable person on his way.
On the eighth day of the month Kronia, now called Hecatombeon, Theseus arrived in Athens. He found unrest and strife in the city, and everything was wrong in the Aegean family. Medea, who had fled from Corinth, lived with him and promised the king to heal him from childlessness with the help of magic potions. Having guessed first who Theseus was, she persuaded Aegeus, who still did not suspect anything, was decrepit and saw in everything the threat of rebellion, to give the guest poison during the meal. Arriving at breakfast, Theseus considered it best not to reveal who he was, but to give his father the opportunity to recognize his son himself; and so, when the meat was served, he pulled out a knife so that, while cutting the food, he could show the old man the sword. Aegeus immediately recognized his sword, threw away the cup of poison, questioned his son, hugged him, and, calling the citizens, introduced Theseus to them; the Athenians joyfully received the young man - they had already heard about his bravery. They say that when the cup fell, the poison spilled out precisely on the spot that is now surrounded by a fence and located within the boundaries of Delphinium. Aegeus lived there, and the image of Hermes standing to the east of the temple is called "Hermes at the Aegean Gate."
13. Until then, the Pallantides hoped to take possession of the kingdom if Aegeus died without leaving offspring. But then Theseus was announced as the successor, and, seething with anger from the fact that Aegeus reigned over them, only adopted by Pandion and not having the slightest relation to the family of Erechtheus, and after him Theseus, also an alien and a stranger, would become king. war. The rebels split into two detachments: some, led by Pallant, openly moved towards the city from Sfetta, others set up an ambush in Gargett in order to attack the enemy from both sides. Among them was a herald, a native of Agnus named Leois. He informed Theseus about the plan of the Pallantides, and he, unexpectedly attacking those sitting in ambush, killed everyone. Having learned about the death of their comrades, Pallant’s detachment also fled. Since then, they say, citizens from the deme of Pallen have not entered into marriages with Aguntians, and their heralds have not shouted the usual: “Listen people!” - These words are hateful to them because of Leoy’s betrayal.
14. Not wanting to sit idle and at the same time trying to gain the love of the people, Theseus went out against the Marathon bull, which was causing a lot of evil and trouble to the inhabitants of the Quadripolis, and, capturing it alive, showed it to the Athenians, led it through the entire city, and then sacrificed it Apollo-Dolphinius.
As for the legend about Hekala and her hospitality, in my opinion, there is some truth in it. In fact, the surrounding demes all celebrated Hecalesia together, making sacrifices to Zeus of Hecales, and honored Hecales, calling her diminutive name, in memory of the fact that, having sheltered Theseus, still very young, she greeted him warmly like an old woman and also called him by affectionate names. And since before the battle Hekala prayed for him to Zeus and made a vow, if Theseus remained unharmed, to make a sacrifice to the god, but did not live to see his return, she, by order of Theseus, received after death the above-mentioned reward for her hospitality. This is what Philochorus says.
15. A little later they came from Crete for the third time for tribute. When, after the insidious, according to the general belief, murder of Androgeus in Attica, Minos, fighting, caused innumerable disasters to the Athenians, and the gods ravaged and devastated the country - crop shortages and a terrible pestilence fell upon it, the rivers dried up - God announced that the wrath of heaven would calm down and the disasters will come to an end if the Athenians appease Minos and persuade him to stop the hostility, and so, having sent envoys asking for peace, they entered into an agreement under which they undertook to send tribute to Crete every nine years - seven unmarried young men and the same number of girls. Almost all writers agree on this.
If you believe the legend, most kind to the tragedians, the teenagers brought to Crete were destroyed in the Labyrinth by the Minotaur, or, in another way, they died themselves, wandering and not finding a way out. The Minotaur, as stated by Euripides, was
And:
A mixture of two breeds, a monstrous freak
16. But, according to Philochorus, the Cretans reject this tradition and say that the Labyrinth was an ordinary prison, where nothing bad was done to the prisoners and only kept watch so that they did not escape, and that Minos organized hymn competitions in memory of Androgeus, and the winner gave as a reward to Athenian teenagers who were for the time being kept in custody in the Labyrinth. The first competition was won by a military leader named Taurus, who at that time enjoyed the greatest confidence of Minos, a man of rude and wild disposition, who treated the teenagers arrogantly and cruelly. Aristotle in " State structure Botti also makes it quite clear that he does not believe that Minos took the lives of teenagers: they, the philosopher believes, managed to grow old in Crete, performing slave service. Once upon a time, the Cretans, fulfilling an ancient vow, sent their firstborn to Delphi, and among those sent were descendants of the Athenians. However, the settlers were unable to feed themselves in the new place and first went overseas, to Italy; They lived for some time in Iapygia, and then, returning, settled in Thrace and received the name Bottians. That is why, Aristotle concludes, Bottian girls sometimes chant during sacrifices: “Let’s go to Athens!”
The bull and the husband have a twofold nature
Yes, it is truly a terrible thing - the hatred of a city that has the gift of speech! In the Attic theater, Minos was invariably vilified and showered with abuse, neither Hesiod nor Homer helped him (the first called him “the most royal of sovereigns,” the second - “the interlocutor of Kronion”), the tragedians gained the upper hand, pouring a whole sea of blasphemy on him from proskene and skene and denounced Minos as a cruel rapist. But the legends say that he is a king and a legislator, and that the judge Rhadamanthus observes his fair regulations.
17. So, the time has come to send tribute for the third time; parents who had unmarried children had, according to lot, to part with their sons or daughters, and again Aegeus began to have discord with his fellow citizens, who grieved and complained indignantly that the culprit of all disasters was the only one free from punishment, that, having bequeathed power to an illegitimate and foreigner, he watches indifferently as they lose their legitimate offspring and remain childless. These complaints depressed Theseus, and, considering it his duty not to stand aside, but to share the fate of his fellow citizens, he himself, not by lot, volunteered to go to Crete. Everyone marveled at his nobility and admired his love for the people, and Aegeus, having exhausted all his requests and pleas and seeing that his son was adamant and unshakable, appointed the remaining teenagers by lot. Hellanicus, however, claims that no lots were cast, but Minos himself came to Athens and chose young men and women, and that time he chose Theseus first; These were the conditions, which also stipulated that the Athenians would equip a ship on which the captives, together with Minos, would sail to Crete, without taking with them any “weapons of war,” and that the death of the Minotaur would put an end to retribution.
Previously, those leaving had no hope of salvation, so the ship had a black sail as a sign of imminent misfortune. However, this time Theseus encouraged his father with proud assurances that he would defeat the Minotaur, and Aegeus gave the helmsman another sail, a white one, and ordered him to raise it on the way back, if Theseus survived, but if not, to sail under the black one, announcing trouble. Simonides writes that Aegeus gave not a white, but “a purple sail, colored by the juice of the flowers of a branchy oak,” and this was supposed to signify salvation. The vessel was captained by Pherekles, son of Amarsiades, as Simonides reports. But according to Philochorus, Theseus took the helmsman Nausithos and the assistant helmsman Phaeac from Skira from Salamis, since the Athenians were not yet engaged in navigation, and among the teenagers was Menestus, the grandson of Skira. This is supported by the sanctuaries of the heroes Nausithos and Phaeacus, erected by Theseus in Falerae near the temple of Skira; In their honor, Philochor concludes, the festival of Cybernesia is also celebrated.