Plutarch's Lives, Vol. 1

Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 100

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Chapters 35-37Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 35 Summary: “Cimon”

Cimon comes from an old and important Athenian family. He loses his parents at a very young age, with the result that his education is neglected. Nevertheless, he is noble and generous by nature, and grows up to become the best general of his time. According to Plutarch, Cimon combined the best qualities of the earlier generals Miltiades (his father) and Themistocles, while being more honest than either of them.

Cimon’s father, Miltiades, leaves him to pay a hefty fine when he dies. Cimon is only able to recure the money by marrying his sister to the rich Callias; in exchange for her hand, Callias agrees to pay the fine.

Cimon distinguishes himself in the Second Persian War, after which he is elected admiral. He becomes known for his gentleness. He leads the Athenians on several successful campaigns in important sites such as Thrace and Scyros. On Scyros, he even finds the remains of the mythical Athenian hero Theseus and brings them home to Athens.

As Cimon becomes rich, he uses his money to help others as much as he can. Unlike most of the public figures of his time, Cimon never uses public funds to enrich himself. Cimon strengthens the Greek alliance against the Persians and leads several successful campaigns against the Persian Empire. He eventually forces the Persian king to sign a treaty preventing him from approaching too close to Greece. His campaigns bring a tremendous amount of wealth back to Athens. This wealth, in turn, finances major building projects in Athens.

As Cimon’s power grows, some Athenians grow jealous or resentful of him. His pro-Spartan leanings in particular make him increasingly unpopular, especially as tensions between Sparta and Athens escalate. In one humiliating episode, Cimon leads an Athenian force to help the Spartans quell an uprising of their subjects, the Helots. As soon as the Athenians arrive, however, the Spartans accuse them of treachery and send them away. This episode seriously hurts Athens’s relationship with the Spartans and leads them to ostracize the pro-Spartan Cimon.

A little later, however, Cimon demonstrates his loyalty to Athens by trying to help them in their battle against the Spartans at Tanagra. Though the Athenians initially turn Cimon away, they are impressed by his patriotism and recall him soon after. Cimon is chosen to lead an Athenian campaign against the Persians in Egypt. Though he experiences several bad omens, Cimon chooses to set sail anyway. He dies before reaching his destination. His body is taken back to Athens and buried with honors.

Chapter 36 Summary: “Lucullus”

Lucullus is born to an important Roman family. He falls in love with oratory at a young age, and as he grows up, he becomes famous for his eloquence. Lucullus is very devoted to his younger brother Marcus. He even refuses to accept any public office unless his brother is also given one, and this leads the Romans to elect Lucullus and his brother as aediles at the same time.

During the time of the Social War, Sylla is very impressed by Lucullus and appoints him to positions of high trust. Despite his connection with Sylla, however, Lucullus did not have a hand in the atrocities that Sylla and Marius committed throughout Italy. He becomes consul after Sylla’s death and goes east to fight against Rome’s enemy Mithridates, the king of Pontus. Plutarch describes the campaign in detail, highlighting how Lucullus’s discipline and caution secures a Roman victory.

After driving Mithridates back, Lucullus reforms the laws of the Greek cities in Asia Minor, reducing taxes and debts. As a result, Lucullus gains the love and respect of the people in the region. Meanwhile, Lucullus tries to capture Mithridates, who has taken refuge with Tigranes, the king of Armenia. Tigranes refuses to surrender Mithridates, and Lucullus marches against him. Once again, Plutarch describes Lucullus’s campaign in detail, including the cities he subdued during his march, his crossing of the Euphrates and the Tigris, and his siege of Tigranocerta (Tigranes’s city). Lucullus at last faces Tigranes’s massive army, which he easily beats. Tigranes and Mithridates both escape.

Despite his success, Lucullus does not reap as much success as other generals of his time. This is because he never becomes a favorite of the soldiers, on whom he is very harsh. The army complains about Lucullus, and he is eventually removed from command. Pompey is sent to replace him. Lucullus does, however, celebrate a splendid Triumph in Rome.

After this, Lucullus completely retires from public and military life, resolving to spend the rest of his life in peace and comfort. He builds beautiful villas for himself near Naples and Tusculum, and these become famous for their gardens. As he grows older, however, Lucullus becomes mentally ill, and his brother takes care of him. He dies at 67.

Chapter 37 Summary: “The Comparison of Lucullus with Cimon”

In comparing Cimon and Lucullus, Plutarch notes that both were capable commanders who enriched their cities. Cimon’s character, however, improved as he grew older, while Lucullus’s declined. Cimon was also known for being generous with his wealth, while Lucullus basked in luxury and display. Lucullus, on the other hand, far surpassed Cimon as a general.

Chapters 35-37 Analysis

In his biographies of Cimon and Lucullus, Plutarch has the opportunity to explore two figures who display a balance of virtues and vices, examining The Influence of Character on History. Though both men were capable generals who helped their respective states a great deal, they each had their flaws. At the beginning of his biography of Cimon, Plutarch reflects on the importance of learning from the vices of great historical figures rather than simply ignoring them. For Plutarch, the goal of the biographer is to produce as true an account of their subject as possible: anything less would be to “abuse his memory with a false and counterfeit narration” (643).

Moreover, since nobody is perfect, a true account of a person must examine their weaknesses as well as their strengths. These weaknesses, as Plutarch writes, need not always be interpreted as simple vices. Rather, for certain notable historical figures, it sometimes happens that “we may regard [their faults] rather as the shortcomings of some particular virtue, than as the natural effects of vice” (644). The complex interplay of virtue and vice thus becomes another important philosophical topic that one can study through biography.

Several of Plutarch’s anecdotes illustrate the weaknesses of Cimon and Lucullus and their complex relationship to their virtues. Many of Cimon’s faults arise from the gaps in his education, at least according to Plutarch. Orphaned at a young age, Cimon did not receive the same level of education as other aristocratic young men of his time, and the result was that he become an immoral young man: Plutarch even records the story that he had a romantic relationship with his own sister. Cimon’s willful nature would also prove an asset as he grew up and led the Athenians in important victories against the Persians.

Lucullus, on the other hand, seems to have followed almost the opposite trajectory from Cimon. Better-educated as a young man, he became more and more obsessed with luxury as he grew older, giving in to his desire for ease and pleasure. Lucullus’s apparent vices also reflect, in some ways, his most important virtues. Plutarch tells a few stories to illustrate how devoted Lucullus was to his younger brother, even refusing to assume any political office until his brother had one too. This was seen as a virtue, until it was taken too far, as when Lucullus opposed Cato’s just punishment of his brother for his corruption.

The importance of Cimon and Lucullus as leaders is ultimately limited, however. Though Cimon won important victories against the Persians and Lucullus against Pontus and Armenia, neither one of them fully subdued their enemy. The Persians were still strong and still fighting against the Athenians when Cimon died, and it was not Lucullus, but Pompey, who put an end to the Mithridatic Wars.

Nevertheless, Cimon and Lucullus represent more worthy public figures than many of their contemporaries, as Plutarch seeks to demonstrate, because of their relatively strong moral characters. Cimon, for instance, was much more honest than other politicians of his period, such as Themistocles. Similarly, Lucullus never committed the atrocious abuses of power of other first-century BCE Romans—including his own early patron, Sylla.