De Homero

by Plutarch

This bilingual edition, with introduction & brief commentary, makes accessible for the 1st time in English a text of importance for the history & interpretation of Homer. Altho attributed to Plutarch, the Essay is probably the work of a grammaticus of the 2nd-3rd century & is the single most valuable source of evidence for the nature of the teaching of Homer in the schools of the Roman Empire. Well represented in the manuscript tradition, the Essay was used as prefatory material by Renaissance editors of Homer, beginning with the editio princeps of 1488, & so exercised a powerful influence on Renaissance & early-modern readers, who often refer to Plutarch as an authority on Homer. The newly edited Greek text is presented with facing translation.

168 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Plutarch (later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus; AD 46–AD 120) was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist. Plutarch's surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers.