Plutarch’s domestic life explored in public lecture by expert in ancient history

Ancient Greek writer Plutarch is the subject of a free public lecture at the University of Leicester on 26 November. Professor Judith Mossman, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Coventry University of Coventry, will speak on ‘At Home in Chaironeia: Domestic Detail in Plutarch’.

Plutarch, who lives from about 46AD to about 120AD was a biographer, essayist, mathematician and philosopher who taught the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He also served as a magistrate and ambassador, and spent the last 30 years of his life as a priest in the temple of Delphi.

Professor Mossman said: “Plutarch is an author whose self-representation is particularly prominent and particularly attractive. Part of this persona is his portrayal of his domestic setting and his home town of Chaironeia. The fact that Plutarch includes domestic detail in scenes in his biographies, too, including scenes of violence and death, suggests that he was alert to the potential for pathos and the opportunities for characterisation inherent in the description of domestic life in a domestic setting.”

Professor Judith Mossman is responsible for the strategic leadership of arts and humanities at Coventry University. Previously, she held the post of Professor of Classics at the University of Nottingham, and fellowships at Trinity College, Dublin and Christ Church, Oxford, and she is currently President of the Hellenic Society. Professor Mossman specialises in Greek literature in the fifth century BC and the second/third century AD and is the author of two books and a number of edited volumes and articles on Euripides and Plutarch.

This talk, which is the annual  lecture Dorothy Buchan Memorial Lecture organised by our School of Archaeology and Ancient History, takes place in Ken Edwards Building on the University campus on Tuesday 26 November 2019, starting at 5.30pm., Lecture Theatre 2. The event is free and open to all; places can be booked via Eventbrite.

The lecture is supported by the Hellenic Society and the Leicester and Rutland Classical Association.