Plutarch’s Pelopidas: A Historical and Philological Commentary

This Commentary on the Life of Pelopidas originates with my doctoral dissertation of which it is a completely revised and expanded version. My aim has been to present and assess the information available on this Life and, where possible, to resolve its outstanding problems. In some cases, however, where I feel that the evidence does not allow for certainty, I follow Wittgenstein's precept "Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, daruber muss man schweigen." I wish to thank John Buckler of the University of Illinois for his many insightful suggestions and corrections which he provided with unfailing generosity; David Larmour of Texas Tech University, who offered numerous helpful comments and stylistic advice; Gerald Browne and David Sansone of the University of Illinois for their valuable advice, especially with regard to philological matters. I am also grateful to Ludwig Koenen, Christoph Konrad and an anonymous reader, all of whom made many essential corrections and saved me from several infelicities. It is also a pleasure to acknowledge my debt to Angeliki Tzanetou, who always gave most generously of her time and intellect, and to Carol Buckler, who has been a source of thoughtful and provoking conversation over the years. Work on the manuscript was greatly facilitated by the technical assistance of Devin Casenhiser, Mary Ellen Fryer and Walter Spencer.