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Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119

Life of Crassus

Κράσσος
Ancient Sources / Plutarch / Life of Crassus

Plutarch's Life of Crassus follows Marcus Licinius Crassus, a Roman famed for his avarice and his great fortune, who rivals Pompey and joins with him and Caesar, from his flight from Cinna and Marius and service under Sulla to his defeat by the Parthians near Carrhae. It tells how Crassus put down the revolt of Spartacus, and its close tells how the head of Crassus was used in a performance of Euripides' Bacchae at the Parthian court. It is paired with the Life of Nicias, and the Comparison of Nicias and Crassus is printed as its last section.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 14 passages, about 17400 words in English.
Translator
Bernadotte Perrin (1916)
Edition
Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 3, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1916 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus)
Cite as
Plutarch, Life of Crassus 1.1 (by chapter, section; Comparison: comp, chapter, section)

Contents · 14 passages

  1. 1.1–3.4Crassus' wealth from Sulla's confiscations and burning houses, and his character1150 words
  2. 4.1–5.4Crassus hides in a cave in Spain with Vibius Paciacus' help683 words
  3. 6.1–7.9Crassus under Sulla, his rivalry with Pompey and his influence at Rome1221 words
  4. 8.1–9.7The revolt of Spartacus: gladiators escape Capua and defeat Roman commanders839 words
  5. 10.1–11.8Crassus defeats Spartacus: the ditch at Rhegium and the final battle1285 words
  6. 12.1–14.6Crassus' consulship and sacrifice to Heracles, the Catiline affair and Caesar's triumvirate985 words
  7. 15.1–16.6Crassus and Pompey win a second consulship; Syria by lot and the curse of Ateius949 words
  8. 17.1–19.6Crassus in Syria, warnings from Arsaces' envoys and omens at the Euphrates1406 words
  9. 20.1–22.6Ariamnes leads Crassus away from the Euphrates into the desert1242 words
  10. 23.1–24.6Carrhae begins: Crassus' hollow square, the Parthian drums and the arrows1022 words
  11. 25.1–27.8The death of young Publius Crassus and the night retreat towards Carrhae2202 words
  12. 28.1–31.7The flight from Carrhae and the death of Crassus at Surena's parley1845 words
  13. 32.1–33.5Surena's mock triumph and the head of Crassus at the Bacchae performance739 words
  14. comp.1.1–comp.5.2Comparison of Nicias and Crassus: wealth, politics, commands and deaths1871 words

More by Plutarch

English translation by Bernadotte Perrin (1916). Original text: Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 3, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1916 (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.