{"product_id":"an-opaque-mirror-for-trajan-a-literary-analysis-and-interpretation-of-plutarchs-regum-et-imperatorum-apophthegmata-9789462703902","title":"An Opaque Mirror for Trajan: A Literary Analysis and Interpretation of Plutarch's 'Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe first full in-depth analysis and interpretation of Plutarch's \u003cem\u003eRegum et imperatorum apophthegmata\u003c\/em\u003e in its entirety as a literary piece of art.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlutarch's \u003cem\u003eRegum et imperatorum apophthegmata (Sayings of Kings and Commanders)\u003c\/em\u003e holds a peculiar position in his oeuvre. This collection of almost 500 anecdotes of barbarian, Greek, and Roman rulers and generals is introduced by a dedicatory letter to Trajan as a summary of the author's well-known and widely read \u003cem\u003eParallel Lives\u003c\/em\u003e. The work is therefore Plutarch's only text that explicitly addresses a Roman emperor and is likely to shed light on his biographical technique. Yet the collection has been understudied, because its authenticity has been generally rejected since the nineteenth century. Recent scholarship defends Plutarch's authorship of the text, but some remain sceptical. This book restores its reputation and provides a first full literary analysis of the letter and collection as a genuine work of Plutarch, wherein he attempts to educate his ruler by means of great role models of the past. Plutarch's thinking about the function of role models (\u003cem\u003eexempla\u003c\/em\u003e) is not only relevant for Plutarchan research, but also for our knowledge of exemplarity, a key feature both in Greek and Latin literature in the early imperial period in general. Therefore \u003cem\u003eAn Opaque Mirror for Trajan\u003c\/em\u003e is also of interest for literary and historical scholars who study the broader context of ancient literature of the first centuries CE.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEbook available in Open Access. \u003cbr\u003e This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eLaurens van der Wiel is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Warsaw. He is part of the project \"Thinking of Thinking. Conceptual Metaphors of Cognition in the Plutarchan Corpus\".\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Leuven University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50910914117906,"sku":"9789462703902","price":109.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_cd657eb1-d191-4e61-bc19-a6a3ee7c02e3.jpg?v=1738719302","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/an-opaque-mirror-for-trajan-a-literary-analysis-and-interpretation-of-plutarchs-regum-et-imperatorum-apophthegmata-9789462703902","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}