Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesPlacesPlanetsPopularAll Myths
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources
Olympians
Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesPlacesPlanetsPopularAll Myths
Plays
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources

Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119

Life of Cato the Elder

Μάρκος Κάτων
Ancient Sources / Plutarch / Life of Cato the Elder

Plutarch's Life of Cato the Elder follows Marcus Porcius Cato, the Roman farmer, orator and censor, from his Sabine farm through his consulship in Spain, the fight at Thermopylae against Antiochus and his censorship to his call for the destruction of Carthage. It records his sayings, his household and his hostility to Greek philosophy and medicine, and Plutarch sometimes criticises him, especially for how he treated his slaves. It is paired with the Life of Aristides, and the Comparison of Aristides and Cato the Elder is printed as its last section.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 13 passages, about 14100 words in English.
Translator
Bernadotte Perrin (1914)
Edition
Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 2, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1914 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus)
Cite as
Plutarch, Life of Cato the Elder 1.1 (by chapter, section; Comparison: comp, chapter, section)

Contents · 13 passages

  1. 1.1–2.4Cato's family and early life: his first campaign and the cottage of Curius983 words
  2. 3.1–4.4Cato, Valerius Flaccus and the quarrel with Scipio; Cato's plain way of life996 words
  3. 5.1–6.3Plutarch on Cato's sale of old slaves; Cato's rule in Sardinia724 words
  4. 7.1–9.7Cato's sayings on the belly, fish, women, kings and repentance1275 words
  5. 10.1–11.3Cato's consulship in Spain, the Celtiberian allies and his triumph706 words
  6. 12.1–14.4Cato at Thermopylae against Antiochus; his message to Rome1237 words
  7. 15.1–16.6Cato's prosecutions and his election as censor with Valerius Flaccus945 words
  8. 17.1–19.6Cato as censor: expelling senators, taxing luxury and the Basilica Porcia1350 words
  9. 20.1–21.8Cato as husband, father, master and money-lender1330 words
  10. 22.1–23.4Carneades and Diogenes at Rome; Cato's dislike of Greek learning and physicians745 words
  11. 24.1–25.3Cato's second marriage to the daughter of Salonius, and his writings881 words
  12. 26.1–27.5Cato and the destruction of Carthage722 words
  13. comp.1.1–comp.6.2Comparison of Aristides and Cato the Elder: careers, wealth and character2158 words

More by Plutarch

English translation by Bernadotte Perrin (1914). Original text: Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 2, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1914 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.