13 Philoxeni in Plutarch and Athenaeus
In: Plutarch and his ContemporariesSearch for other papers by Krystyna Bartol in
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Abstract
The purpose of this article is to show how the two Greek authors of the imperial era, Plutarch and Athenaeus, dealt with the question of typical features and special qualities attributed by tradition to persons named Philoxenus. I will discuss those passages from the writings of Plutarch that refer to these Philoxeni and compare them with the places in Athenaeus dedicated to people of that name. They reflect the interests of both writers in some areas and topics, and present their approach to the way Philoxeni were treated in earlier sources. The paper answers the question: “are the accounts by Plutarch and Athenaeus convergent in their treatment of Philoxenus or do they give two contrasting portraits of this / these figure(s)?” The fragments that are analyzed in the article illustrate the reception of traditional patterns of the Philoxenean legend, and, at the same time, the use of the potential of the long-established image of Philoxeni for a specific place and time, i.e. Greece of the second century CE.