UPCOMING
CONFERENCES
Plutarch
and the Athenian Statesman
American Philological Association
January 5-8, 2012
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Sponsored by the International Plutarch Society
Organized by Jeffrey Beneker, University of Wisconsin
Plutarch of Chaeronia had a personal connection to Athens
during his lifetime, but he was also thoroughly immersed in
the historical, literary, and philosophical traditions of
the city’s past. Although undoubtedly a lover of Athenian
art and wisdom, he appears to have had a special fascination
with the careers and character of the statesmen from Athens’
Archaic and Classical periods. For instance, of his twenty-three
extant Greek Lives, ten have Athenian subjects, ranging from
the legendary Theseus to Phocion, a contemporary of Alexander;
figures such as Themistocles and Pericles feature prominently
in the Moralia, not only in the political essays, but also
in treatises on ethics, religion, and philosophy; and he made
the argument (though perhaps only rhetorically) that the tragedians
had not benefitted Athens with their plays as much as the
statesmen had by providing walls, securing liberty, and establishing
an empire (On the fame of the Athenians 348d).
The aim of this panel is to explore Plutarch’s characterization
of Athenian statesmen and especially his use of these historical
figures as exempla. We welcome submissions on Plutarch’s
interpretation of historical material, but we are particularly
interested in papers that examine how he represents the intersection
of character and leadership in Athenian politics, how he shapes
his biographical narratives to make moral or other kinds of
arguments, and how he employs Athenian political and military
leaders in his non-biographical works.
Abstracts should be sent electronically, in MS Word format
or PDF, to Jeffrey Beneker (jbeneker@wisc.edu).
In preparing the abstract, please follow the formatting guidelines
for individual abstracts that appear in the APA Program Guide,
and plan for a paper that takes no more than 20 minutes to
deliver. Abstracts will be judged anonymously. Membership
in the International Plutarch Society is not required for
participation in this panel.
The
deadline is February 1, 2011. Click
here for PDF