Alexander, his Teacher and his Status of Philosophy in Plutarch of Chaeronea: an Inquiry into the Meaning of a Certain Exchange of Letters

Abstract

The principal focus of the present article is the exchange of letters quoted by Plutarch of Chaeronea, celebrated teacher and Middle-Platonist of the first century CE, in his equally famous bios Alexandrou, a work describing the life and deeds of the great Macedonian as juxtaposed with those of his Roman counterpart, Caesar. My aim is simple enough: to evaluate the function and meaning of said exchange in the framework of the bios, its possible cultural and moral import, and thus, its contribution to the Plutarchean portrayal of Alexander and his attitude toward philosophy. As for the authenticity of the exchange, the issue is of limited relevance in the present essay, since Plutarch very clearly considers the letters in question as authentic – for clarity’s sake, however, one may add that Hadot dismisses them as a Hellenistic apocryph, intended to bolster the standing of Andronicus’ redaction of Aristotelian Metaphysics2. As far the more general issue of Plutarch’s employment of letters in Alexander’s biography is concerned, the Aristotle letter is hardly a unique instance of such an occurrence – much in keeping with his predilection for the anecdotal, Plutarch does occasionally invoke the testimony of correspondence: as private means of communication letters are a valuable testimony to man’s character and customs: thus, in the later parts of the bios, we find quotations (some paraphrased) from Alexander’s correspondence with his mother,Olympias (mentioned in Alex. 39.5) or from letters exchanged between him and various officials: hence, the appearance of the Aristotle letters conforms to the more general Plutarchean usage.