3. tyrant in Alba: Plutarch refers to Acron (Romulus 16).
4. Sciron … Corynetes: Theseus 8 (Corynetes and Sinis), 10 (Sciron) and 11 (Procrustes); these were bandits slain by the young Theseus on his way from Troezen to Athens.
5. Theseus … to Athens by sea: As he was urged to do in Theseus 6.
6. Theseus’ clash with the Centaurs and … Amazons: Theseus 26–8 (Amazons) and 30 (Centaurs).
7. Theseus’ daring … cruel masters: Each of these versions is told at Theseus 15–16 (Plutarch’s account of Theseus’ adventure in Crete extends to ch. 20). Although Plutarch introduces multiple historicizing variations, he includes in his narrative the traditional myth: in order to free Athens from its tribute to Minos of Crete, Theseus included himself with the youths destined for sacrifice to the Minotaur, whom he slew; Minos’ daughter, Ariadne, fell in love with him, and with her assistance he was able to find his way out of the labyrinth in which the Minotaur was confined. Ariadne left Crete with Theseus, but was deserted along the way back to Athens.
8. ‘a labour … salvation of the young’: This was the view of Polemon of Athens, who was head of the Academy, 314–270. Plutarch cites it again at Moralia 780d; see also Numa 6.
9. worthy of a god’s love … finest qualities: In a common version of the story of Ariadne, she became the wife of Dionysus after she was deserted by Theseus; at Theseus 20 Plutarch reviews several accounts of Ariadne, but not this one (he omits ‘the more pleasing of these legends’ because they are ‘common knowledge’).
10. Theseus … his son: Theseus’ wife, Phaedra, developed an illicit passion for her stepson, Hippolytus, who rejected her advances. She then falsely accused Hippolytus to Theseus and took her own life, after which Hippolytus was cursed by his father and subsequently perished. The story was popular in ancient literature, not least in tragedy (it is the subject of Euripides’ Hippolytus). Plutarch passes over it lightly at Theseus 28, referring the reader to the tragedians for details.
11. eliminated … the names of … heroes: This negative view of Theseus’ centralization of Attica corresponds with the hostile complaints of the demagogue Menestheus at Theseus 32.
12. He did not slay … criminals: In contrast with Theseus (see above).
13. death of Remus … attributed … not to Romulus: Romulus 10.
14. restored his grandfather … to the throne of Aeneas: Romulus and Remus restore Numitor to his throne at Romulus 9.
15. negligence regarding … the sail: Theseus’ father, Aegeus, gave his son a distinctive sail, which was to be hoisted on the return voyage from Crete if Theseus was safe. In the exuberance of the return journey, however, Theseus forgot to raise the correct sail and this led to his father’s death (Theseus 17 and 22).
16. the story … his death: Relating the death of Aegeus at Theseus 22, Plutarch does not there mention this variation, which is not recorded elsewhere.
17. Theseus’ abductions … wedlock: Theseus 19–20 (Ariadne), 26 (Antiope), 29 (Anaxo – and others) and 31–2 (Helen; Plutarch reports that Theseus was then fifty years old).
18. Erechtheus … Cecrops: Erechtheus was an early king of Athens (later identified with Poseidon and worshipped on the Acropolis). Cecrops was also an early king of Athens, often depicted as half-man, half-snake. These two were frequently viewed as the ancestors of all Athenians.
19. carried off … 800 women: Romulus 14.
20. modesty … of Roman marriages: Plutarch’s comments on Romulus here may owe something to Dion. Hal. 2.24–6.1, where the king is depicted as a model legislator of marriage.
21. In the course of … divorce his wife: Plutarch makes the same point at Comparison Lycurgus–Numa 3, where he dates this first divorce more specifically to 230 years after the founding of Rome, which, for Plutarch, is 523. Spurius Carvilius, however, was the consul of 234, and so there is something amiss in Plutarch’s chronology. Dion. Hal. (2.25.7) and Gellius (4.3) more plausibly date this divorce to 231, Valerius Maximus (2.1.4) to 234.
22. the two kings: Romulus and Titus Tatius.
23. Aphidnae … Alexander: Theseus installed the young Helen in Aphidnae, in Attica, where she was looked after by his mother, Aethra. Helen’s brothers, Castor and Pollux, led the Spartans into Attica and after a battle captured Aphidnae, reclaiming their sister (Theseus 32–3). Alexander is another name for Paris, whose abduction of Helen led to the Trojan War.
24. Hecuba: The wife of Priam and often a central figure in accounts of the suffering of Trojan women enslaved after the fall of their city.
25. mother of Theseus … tales told about Theseus: At Theseus 34 Plutarch cites (without confidence) evidence that Aethra (Theseus’ mother) was a slave in Troy. There were also legends that she was rescued, after the fall of Troy, by her grandchildren (Plutarch does not mention these).
26. the oracle given to Aegeus: Discussed at Theseus 3; in the Comparison Plutarch severely misrepresents its significance (the advice of the oracle was designed to ensure that Aegeus’ heir was born legitimately and in Athens).
NUMA
Further Reading
There is no commentary on the Life of Numa in English. In Italian, however, there is M. Manfredini and L. Piccirilli (eds.), Plutarco, Vite Parallele: Le vite di Licurgo e di Numa (2nd edn, 1995). Important for this Life’s philosophical implications is L. de Blois and A. E. J. Bons, ‘Platonic Philosophy and Isocratean Virtues in Plutarch’s Numa’, Ancient Society 23 (1992), pp. 159–88. For an insightful illustration of how Numa’s reputation could be exploited in Roman politics, see E. Gabba, ‘The collegia of Numa. Problems of method and political ideas’, JRS 74 (1984), pp. 81–6. On the regal period of Roman history, see Introduction to Romulus and General Introduction V.
Notes to the Introduction to Numa
1. Numa 8 (see Plato, Republic 2.372e) and Lycurgus 5 (see Plato, Laws 691e).
2. See H. W. Bird, Classical Journal 81 (1986), pp. 243–481; and H. Brandt, Museum Helveticum 45 (1988), pp. 98–110.
3. See A. R. Birley, Hadrian, the Restless Emperor (1997), p. 42.
4. See A. Willi, Museum Helveticum 55 (1998), pp. 139–72.
5. de Blois and Bons, Ancient Society 23, pp. 159–88.
6. On philanthropia, see General Introduction III.
7. See H. Liebert, History of Political Thought 30 (2009), pp. 251–71; B. Boulet in L. de Blois, J. Bons, T. Kessels and D. M. Schenkeveld (eds.), The Statesman in Plutarch’s Lives, vol. 2 (2004), pp. 245–56.
8. HRR, vol. 1, pp. 120–38.
Notes to the Life of Numa
1. There persists … Numa’s own time: On this opening sentence, see the discussion by M. H. Crawford, Faventia 20/1 (1998), pp. 37–8.
2. Clodius: His identity is uncertain. He was possibly the first-century BC historian Quintus Claudius Quadrigarius, who began his history of Rome with the Gallic sack, but he is not associated with a work of the title specified here by Plutarch. Another possibility is Gaius Clodius Licinus, who was suffect consul in AD 4 (HRR 2.77) and also a historian. The name Clodius, however, was extremely common.
3. sacked by the Celts: On the sack of Rome by the Gauls (or Celts, Plutarch uses these terms interchangeably), traditionally in 390, see Introduction to Camillus.
4. records … counterfeited … illustrious houses: This was a very real phenomenon in the later Roman republic: see T. P. Wiseman, Roman Studies (1987), pp. 201–18. Plutarch refers again to this problem at ch. 21.
5. others … insist … Greek education: This is the insistent view of Livy (1.18.1–4), who argues at length that Pythagoras (see following note) had nothing to do with Numa, nor did Numa receive instruction in foreign studies: his virtue derived from native Sabine discipline.
6. Pythagoras: A major philosopher of the sixth century BC. In addition to his lasting influence as a philosopher, he founded a secret, quasi-religious society that persisted into the empire and played a part in giving Neoplatonism its ultimate shape; see W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Philosophy,
vol. 1 (1962), pp. 146–319, and W. Burkert, Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism (1972).
7. Pythagoras … Numa’s reign: Dion. Hal. (2.58.3) cites this victory of Pythagoras, which took place in 713, in order to fix the year in which Numa was invited to become king of Rome.
8. Sabines … from Sparta: See Romulus 16.
9. Hippias of Elis: A prominent sophist of the second half of the fifth century BC. He was expert in many subjects, including history, and his list of Olympian victors was influential (FGrH 6).
10. a natural beginning … life: Plutarch begins his biography with Numa’s ascension to the throne.
11. Capratine Nones: 7 July. For the events narrated in this paragraph, see Romulus 29 with the notes provided there.
12. after the death … selected from their number: For these events, see Romulus 20 and 23.
13. 150 patricians: At Romulus 20, however, Plutarch puts the membership of the combined Roman and Sabine senate at 200.
14. for six hours each night … private citizen: Only Plutarch describes this arrangement. In other accounts, each senator holds office for five consecutive days (e.g. Cicero, The Republic 2.23; Livy 1.17.6; Dion. Hal. 2.57 and 62.1–3). On the interregnum, see Lintott, Constitution, pp. 28–9.
15. Cures … Quirites: See Romulus 19.
16. He was born … April: See Romulus 12. Plutarch means that this was Numa’s birthday, not that he was born in the same year that Rome was founded. In ch. 2 above and at Romulus 29, he states that Romulus died in the thirty-eighth year of his reign, but Numa was forty when he became king (ch. 5).
17. Tatius … son-in-law: Also reported by Zonaras 7.5, but unknown to Livy or Dion. Hal.
18. Egeria: A goddess associated with springs and routinely linked in Roman tradition with Numa.
19. Attis: The consort of the goddess Cybele.
20. Rhodoetes: An alternative name for Odius, a captain of the Bithynian Halizons during the Trojan War (Iliad 2.856–7, 5.38–42; see also Arrian FGrH 156 F 98). His association with a goddess is not otherwise attested.
21. Endymion: The consort of Selene, the moon-goddess. Only Plutarch describes this myth as Arcadian in origin.
22. Phorbas: The son variously of Lapithes or Triopas, he relieved the island of Rhodes from a plague of serpents and was consequently honoured as a hero.
23. Hyacinthus: A Doric hero beloved of Apollo and accidentally slain by him; from his blood sprang the hyacinth flower.
24. Admetus: A Thessalian hero who won Apollo’s favour and is the central figure in Euripides’ Alcestis. Apollo’s passion for Admetus is mentioned at Callimachus, Hymn to Zeus 2.49.
25. Hippolytus of Sicyon: Pausanias (2.6.7) mentions a king of Sicyon named Hippolytus but says nothing about his being a favourite of Apollo.
26. Cirrha: A city in central Greece (modern Kirra).
27. Pythia: This was the priestess at Delphi who, while in a trance, received the oracle of Apollo, which was then reported to the priests at Delphi, who furnished it in verse form.
28. Pindar and his poems: See also Moralia 1103a and Pausanias 9.25.3.
29. Archilochus … Hesiod: Both poets received cultic honours after their deaths; see further Moralia 162c, 560e and 969e.
30. Sophocles … his tomb: On Sophocles’ hospitality to Asclepius, see also Moralia 1103b. After his death, Sophocles received heroic honours under the name Dexion (Etymologicum Magnum s.v. Dexion).
31. Zaleucus: Seventh-century BC legislator from Locri in southern Italy; his historicity was doubted even in antiquity (Timaeus FGrH 566 F 130).
32. Minos: Legendary king of Crete who, after his death, became a judge in the underworld.
33. Zoroaster: The Greek form of Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrianism.
34. ‘the road is broad’: Bacchylides fr. 27 in D. A. Campbell, Greek Lyric, vol. 4 (1992).
35. Numa … man of forty: See note 16.
36. Proculus: Julius Proculus (ch. 2 and Romulus 28).
37. Velesus: This is Volusius Valerius, the ancestor of Publicola (Publicola 1 with note 3).
38. Marcius: Marcus Marcius, the (legendary) progenitor of the Marcian clan. His son married Numa’s daughter Pompilia and was thus the father of the king Ancus Marcius (ch. 21).
39. refusing … the kingship he was offered: Livy’s Numa does not resist his appointment as king (1.18.6), whereas Dion. Hal.’s, like Plutarch’s, does (2.60.1).
40. essential duty of a king … service to the gods: This sentiment is repeated at Moralia 780d; see also Comparison Theseus–Romulus 1 with note 8.
41. Spurius Vettius: Mentioned only here.
42. Tarpeian Hill: See Romulus 18.
43. the chief of the augurs … birds appeared from the right: Plutarch’s account of Numa’s inauguration is simpler than Livy’s (1.18.6–10). This ritual, crucial to Roman practice, is much discussed: see J. Linderski, ANRW 2.16.3 (1986), 2256–97.
44. the swift men: See Romulus 26. According to Dion. Hal. (2.64.3), Numa did not abolish the Celeres.
45. flamines: Special priests devoted to a single deity. There were three major flamines (the flamen Dialis, flamen Martialis and flamen Quirinalis, devoted to Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus respectively); there were also twelve minor flamines.
46. pilamenes: Plutarch here derives flamines or pilamenes from pilos, the Greek word for a felt hat; see also Moralia 274c and Dion. Hal. 2.64.2 (the distinctive headwear of the flamines was called an apex in Latin, and it was not simply a skull cap but had a point as well). Varro, On the Latin Language 5.84, offers a different etymology. Neither is correct.
47. Juba: See Introduction to Romulus.
48. laena … chlaena: Festus (104) offers a similar etymology.
49. Cadmilus: (or Casmilus) One of the Samothracian Cabiri (see Marcellus 30 with note 139 and Aemilius 23 with note 113), sometimes identified with Hermes. Varro (On the Latin Language 7.3) draws the connection with the Latin word camillus.
50. ‘city swollen with fiery phlegm’: Plato, Republic 2.372e. Plutarch, borrowing an expression from Plato, Laws 691e, describes Sparta, when Lycurgus became king, as feverish.
51. his golden thigh … Olympic Games: See also Porphyry, Life of Plotinus 25, 28; Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras 62, 92, 135 and 140.
52. Pythagoras … solemn speech: Timon of Phlius (c. 320–230) was a sceptic philosopher and poet. This passage, also quoted by Diogenes Laertius (8.36), comes from his Lampoons, a work that attacked all philosophers other than the sceptic Pyrrhus.
53. as I mentioned before: See ch. 4.
54. Tacita … speechless one: The Silent Goddess (Dea Muta), a Roman goddess, is not routinely identified with one of the (Greek) Muses; see Ovid, Fasti 2.569–82.
55. refused to make graven images … intellect: This dubious claim about early Roman religion was advanced by Varro (Augustine, City of God 4.32; Tertullian, Apology 25.12); see M. Beard, J. North and S. Price, Religions of Rome, vol. 1 (1998), pp. 10–11.
56. Pythagorean … practices … shedding of blood: See Romulus 12.
57. Epicharmus: A Sicilian writer of comedies active in the first quarter of the fifth century BC. The fragments of his verse make it clear that he engaged with philosophical ideas, and in antiquity philosophical works were also attributed to him. Although this is the earliest mention of his Pythagoreanism, he is included among the Pythagorean philosophers in his biography by Diogenes Laertius (8.78).
58. Antenor: Plutarch’s reference here is uncertain. We know that one of Epicharmus’ plays was titled Antenor (Oxyrhynchus Papyri 2659) and was presumably about the Trojan counsellor who in some accounts settled in Italy (e.g. Virgil, Aeneid 1.242); perhaps this was the source of a joke about Pythagoras and Rome and Plutarch’s comment here reflects a garbled report of it.
59. charm of his speech: See Aemilius 2 with note 7. Numa’s family is discussed further at ch. 21.
60. monuments … Pythagoras: See also Pliny, Natural History 34.26.
61. pontific
es … doing so: This view also derives pontifex from potens, here in the sense of being able to do something.
62. rituals … on the bridge: Plutarch refers here and below to the Sublician Bridge (pons Sublicius), Rome’s oldest bridge. Its exact location remains uncertain. The first of these etymologies is mentioned only by Plutarch. The other two can be found at Varro, On the Latin Language 5.83.
63. stone bridge … Aemilius: Rome’s first stone bridge, routinely described as the Aemilian Bridge (pons Aemilius), was constructed in 179, when Marcus Fulvius Nobilior and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus were censors. It was wrecked by a storm in 156 and subsequently rebuilt, perhaps by a quaestor who was also an Aemilius, unless Plutarch meant to write censor (tamēteuontos) instead of quaestor (tamieuontos).
64. interpreting … correct ritual practice: These duties of the pontifex maximus are also described at Dion. Hal. 2.73; see Beard, North and Price, Religions of Rome, vol. 1, pp. 55–8.
65. Vestals … eternal fire: The six Vestal Virgins observed the rites of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth who was essential to Rome’s security; tending Vesta’s fire, which was meant never to be extinguished, was the most conspicuous of their ritual tasks. In other accounts, including Romulus 22, it is Romulus who establishes the Vestal Virgins.
66. perpetual fire … Athens: Plutarch refers to the sacred fire in the temple of Apollo at Delphi (Moralia 385d; Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 1037; Pausanias 10.24.2) and in the Erechtheion in Athens (Strabo 9.396).
67. Aristion: Philosopher and tyrant in Athens from 88 to 86, when he was executed by Sulla. On his character and on this incident, see Plutarch, Sulla 13.
68. Delphi its fire … altar was destroyed: Plutarch is our sole source for the extinction of the Delphian flame in these circumstances. Delphi was attacked but little damaged by the Persians in 480, and during the period 87–83 Sulla looted the treasuries of Delphi to help to pay for his campaign against Mithridates.