No topic is more divisive than politics. And yet, during an election year, there may be no topic more in need of exploration. One approach that allows for peaceful dialogue is to examine the politics of another place and time, to find examples that ring true in the modern era but which we can discuss without offending our fellow citizens.
My research on Plutarch of Chaeronea, a Greek author from the first century A.D., focuses on someone who took just this approach.
By Plutarch’s day, classical Greece was long gone, and the old cities were subject to the Roman emperor. Even so, they were largely self-governing and required competent leadership.
Both a historian and a practicing politician, Plutarch believed the past could inform the present.
In a series of essays, which I have recently translated, Plutarch recounts stories about great leaders from the classical past, taking pains to distill from his historical examples the essence of wise political leadership.
He describes, for example, how Themistocles and Aristides set aside their partisan rivalry whenever they were representing Athens abroad; how Theopompus, a Spartan king, surrendered some of his power to make the monarchy more stable; and how Epaminondas of Thebes took the same pride in overseeing the streets as he did in leading the army.
Drawing on the experiences of dozens of historical figures, Plutarch makes examples from the past relevant to his contemporary audience, and in the process, he has made them relevant to a modern audience as well.
This essay originally appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal’s Fueling Discovery section on May 4, 2020. Fueling Discovery is a special partnership between the Wisconsin State Journal and the College of Letters & Science.