Natural Spectaculars. Aspects of Plutarch's Philosophy of Nature

253 Pages·2015·1.724 MB·English

by  Michiel Meeusen, Luc Van Der Stockt

NATURALSPECTACULARS
ASPECTSOFPLUTARCH’SPHILOSOPHYOFNATURE
PLUTARCHEA HYPOMNEMATA
EditorialBoard
JanOpsomer(KULeuven)
GeertRoskam(KULeuven)
FrancesTitchener(UtahStateUniversity,Logan)
LucVanderStockt(KULeuven)
AdvisoryBoard
F.Alesse(ILIESI-CNR,Roma)
M.Beck(UniversityofSouthCarolina,Columbia)
J.Beneker(UniversityofWisconsin,Madison)
H.-G.Ingenkamp(UniversitätBonn)
A.G.Nikolaidis(UniversityofCrete,Rethymno)
Chr.Pelling(ChristChurch,Oxford)
A.PérezJiménez(UniversidaddeMálaga)
Th.Schmidt(UniversitédeFribourg)
P.A.Stadter(UniversityofNorthCarolina,ChapelHill)
NATURAL SPECTACULARS
ASPECTS OF PLUTARCH’S
PHILOSOPHY OF NATURE
Editedby
MICHIELMEEUSENandLUCVANDERSTOCKT
LeuvenUniversityPress
©2015byLeuvenUniversityPress/PressesUniversitairesdeLouvain/Universitaire
PersLeuven
Minderbroedersstraat4,B-3000Leuven(Belgium)
Allrightsreserved.Exceptinthosecasesexpresslydeterminedbylaw,nopartofthis
publicationmaybemultiplied,savedinanautomateddatafileormadepublicinanyway
whatsoeverwithouttheexpresspriorwrittenconsentofthepublishers.
ISBN9789462700437
D/2015/1869/43
NUR735-732
Coverdesign:JokeKlaassen
Contents
Acknowledgements 7
Contributors 9
IntroducingPlutarch’sNaturalPhilosophy 11
MICHIELMEEUSEN–LUCVANDERSTOCKT
I. PhysicsandMetaphysics
PlutarchontheGeometryoftheElements 29
JANOPSOMER
‘SayGoodbyetoOpinions!’Plutarch’sPhilosophyofNatural
PhenomenaandtheJourneytoMetaphysicalKnowledge 57
SUZANSIERKSMA-AGTERES
II. PhysicalAetiologyandExegesis
AreWomenColderorHotterthanMen?(Quaest.conv.3,4) 75
ANGELOCASANOVA
PlutarchandtheCommentaryonthe PhaenomenaofAratus 87
PAOLAVOLPECACCIATORE
TheMoonasAgentofDecay(Plut.,Quaest.conv.3,10;Macr.,
Sat.7,16,15–34) 99
ALDOSETAIOLI
SomeNotesonPlutarch’sQuaestionesnaturales 113
FABIOTANGA
PlutarchSolvingNaturalProblems:ForWhatCause?(TheCase
ofQuaest.nat.29,919AB) 129
MICHIELMEEUSEN
6 CONTENTS
III. Man’sPlaceintheCosmos
TheLightoftheMoon:AnActiveParticipantontheBattlefield
inPlutarch’s ParallelLives 145
LUISALESAGEGÁRRIGA
ThePowerofNatureandItsInfluenceonStatesmenintheWork
ofPlutarch 155
ANAFERREIRA
ChasingButterflies:TheConceptionoftheSoulinPlutarch’s
Works 167
ISRAELMUÑOZGALLARTE
Plutarch’sAnthropologyandItsInfluenceonHisCosmological
Framework 179
LAUTAROROIGLANZILLOTTA
IV.CompositionalTechniqueandStyle
FromChaostoCosmos(andBackAgain):Plato’sTimaeusand
theCompositionof Deanimaeprocreationeand Defaciein
orbelunae 199
BRAMDEMULDER
PlutarchandTransgressionsofNature:StylisticAnalysisof De
facieinorbelunae926CD 215
AURELIOPÉREZ-JIMÉNEZ
PlutarchonSolon’sSimplicityConcerningNaturalPhilosophy:
Sol.3,6–7andFrs.9and12West 227
DELFIMFERREIRALEÃO
IndexNominumetRerum 241
Acknowledgements
The volume at hand collects a series of 14 papers that were presented
during the XIVth meeting of the Réseau thématique Plutarque held
September 19–20, 2013 at KU Leuven. The aim of this meeting, which
took place at the close of a research project on Plutarch’s Quaestiones
naturales (generously funded by the Research Council of the hosting
university), was to study a number of fundamental aspects of Plutarch’s
natural philosophy. Most of the papers read during this conference are
publishedinthepresentvolume.Manythanksareduetotheparticipating
scholars for their contributions to the conference and to this volume.
We are also much obliged to the KU Leuven Research Council and to
the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) for making this publication
possible, as well as to the two anonymous reviewers for their useful
commentsandsuggestions.

Contributors
AngeloCasanova–UniversitàdegliStudidiFirenze
BramDemulder–KULeuven/ResearchFoundation–Flanders(FWO)
AnaFerreira–UniversidadedoPorto/CECH
DelfimFerreiraLeão–UniversidadedeCoimbra
LuisaLesageGárriga–UniversidaddeMálaga
MichielMeeusen–KULeuven/ResearchFoundation–Flanders(FWO)
IsraelMuñozGallarte–UniversidaddeCórdoba
JanOpsomer–KULeuven,InstituteofPhilosophy/InternalFundsKU
Leuven
AurelioPérez-Jiménez–UniversidaddeMálaga
LautaroRoigLanzillotta–RijksuniversiteitGroningen
AldoSetaioli–UniversitàdegliStudidiPerugia
SuzanSierksma-Agteres–RijksuniversiteitGroningen
FabioTanga–UniversitàdegliStudidiSalerno
LucVanderStockt–KULeuven
PaolaVolpeCacciatore–UniversitàdegliStudidiSalerno