Description

Analyzing key takeaways from Plutarch’s The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans. Plutarch already does an incredible job of comparing various profiles, but here we will repeat the exercise at a higher altitude.

Theseus

TBD

Romulus

Stealing women back then was pretty common, especially in war as they’re claimed as the prize.
Romulus was focused on establishing clear rules within society and ensuring others adhere to them.
I’m convinced that Rome’s glory would not have been fulfilled had its founding not had such an important myth tied to it.

Even Plutarch himself asserts “… consider that the Roman power would hardly have reached so high a pitch without a divinely ordered origin, attended with great extraordinary circumstances.”

The existence of Rome is tied literally (or metaphorically) to the nursing of Romulus and Rhemus by a female wolf.

Lycurgus

Up to this point, Lycurgus is one of my favorite profiles. He comes across as selfless, strong, and wise. The institution he built for the Spartans really makes you think — there weren’t many analogs to his solutions — they felt original.

Lycurgus acts like a modern statesman, visiting other societies to learn from their cultures, hoping to bring novel ideas and methods to the Spartan people.
He established the senate and ensured it wasn’t merely ornery, but having equal power to the king.
To combat theft, Lycurgus replaced existing silver currency with iron. This made currency drastically heavier and larger. Its conspicuity made it so that any petty theft was a loud affair, and just like that crime had dropped.
We hear of the term “Spartan” used as an adjective — of someone living off the bare necessities, a rough life. Lycurgus established this by design, essentially banning luxury. To him, any outside influence could inspire luxury, as they sell their wares. Because of the iron currency, this made trade among other nations impossible, thereby living only off what they produce.
Plutarch tells us that because of Lycurgus’s banning of superfluous arts, it prevented artisans from applying their talents to the creation of useless things, instead diverting it to upscaling the creation of everyday essentials.
Lycurgus veers a bit towards the Socialist viewpoint, of standardizing food to the very basics of nutrition, and enforcing everyone eat together at the same time, regardless of status or creed.
When a youth with a notorious temper by the name of Alcander strikes and blinds Lycurgus in one eye, rather than scold him, he has the youth live with him. Lycurgus sought to teach this man a lesson that would have a lasting impact, by seeing how Lycurgus is as a person in private and to emulate any virtuous behaviors & habits. Alcander becomes one of Lycurgus’s most ardent lifelong supporter.
Lycurgus’s education of the youth employs a method we need to use more often today. He takes the best of the best in what they do, mainly the statesman, and have them sit and watch them do their work. By shadowing these great men, they know firsthand what it is like to be virtuous and should have an easier time rising to the task.
The Spartans were more or less a warrior society, so the women were also expected to train and learn to defend themselves and their homestead.
“And indeed one of the greatest and highest blessings Lycurgus procured his people was the abundance of leisure which proceeded from his forbidding to them the exercise of any mean and mechanical trade.”

Numa Pompilius

TBD

Solon

TBD

Poplicola

TBD

Themistocles

TBD

Camillus

Camillus gained power in a system where power was shared, but he became the de facto leader out of his reputation.
Camillus was developing an ego, driving around in a chariot with four white horses which no other general before had done. This was seen as a way of gesturing as a god.
A teacher among the enemy Falerians, would slowly acclimate the kids to learning while farther and farther away from the safety of their city compound. All in his plan, he then decided to take all the children to their rival, Camillus, so he could use them as instruments of negotiation in war. However what Camillus hated most, was treachery and deceit of such a horrible nature, so he equipped the school children with sticks to beat their teacher. He then walked them all back to the enemy, showing that even in war, there lies honor. The Falerians were so taken by his dignity that they willingly submitted to his ruling.
You would think that avoiding a war would be seen as a positive, but for soldiers who rely on pillaging the spoils of war as a means of income, they were upset.

Critique on Plutarch’s Lives