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Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119

Life of Demetrius

Δημήτριος
Ancient Sources / Plutarch / Life of Demetrius

Plutarch's Life of Demetrius tells the story of Demetrius the City-besieger, son of Antigonus and a successor of Alexander the Great, from his youth to his death in captivity. It follows his wars against Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus and Pyrrhus, his liberation and cult at Athens, his seven years as king of the Macedonians and his fall, and it dwells on his luxury, his siege engines and his great ships. It is paired with the Life of Antony.

Read from the start
Text
Greek original with English translation, 20 passages, about 18600 words in English.
Translator
Bernadotte Perrin (1920)
Edition
Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 9, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1920 (Greek text as digitised by Perseus)
Cite as
Plutarch, Life of Demetrius 1.1 (by chapter, section)

Contents · 20 passages

  1. 1.1–4.4Demetrius the City-besieger: his beauty, his devotion to Antigonus and the flight of Mithridates1484 words
  2. 5.1–7.3Demetrius beaten at Gaza, then victorious over Cilles; Nabataeans, Babylonia and Halicarnassus806 words
  3. 8.1–9.6Demetrius sails to free Athens; the raid near Megara and the philosopher Stilpo820 words
  4. 10.1–13.2Athens honours Demetrius as a god: Saviour-gods, Stratocles, Philippides and the oracle motion1183 words
  5. 14.1–17.5Demetrius' marriages; the sea battle off Salamis in Cyprus against Ptolemy1073 words
  6. 18.1–20.5Antigonus and Demetrius become kings; storm, Lamia and the siege engines1144 words
  7. 21.1–22.4Demetrius besieges Rhodes: the city-taker, Zoilus' armour and the painting of Ialysus632 words
  8. 23.1–24.5Demetrius lodged in the Parthenon; Democles and Athens' flattery716 words
  9. 25.1–27.6Demetrius at Argos and the Isthmus, his initiation at Athens, and the courtesan Lamia1163 words
  10. 28.1–29.5Antigonus and Demetrius face the other kings; Alexander in a dream; death of Antigonus733 words
  11. 30.1–32.5Demetrius after defeat: Athens shuts him out; marriage alliance with Seleucus1104 words
  12. 33.1–35.4Demetrius starves Athens into surrender and attacks Sparta958 words
  13. 36.1–37.3Demetrius kills Alexander, son of Cassander, and becomes king of the Macedonians728 words
  14. 38.1–9Antiochus, Stratonicé and the physician Erasistratus680 words
  15. 39.1–41.5Thebes taken twice; Pythian games at Athens; Pyrrhus defeats Pantauchus925 words
  16. 42.1–43.5Demetrius refuses petitions; an old woman rebukes him; his great army and fleet806 words
  17. 44.1–45.3Pyrrhus and Lysimachus drive Demetrius out of Macedonia; Phila's death823 words
  18. 46.1–47.4Demetrius marries Ptolemaïs and marches into Asia; Seleucus turns against him824 words
  19. 48.1–50.6Demetrius fights Seleucus and surrenders in the Amanus; his seizure by Pausanias1185 words
  20. 51.1–53.4The captivity, death and funeral of Demetrius829 words

More by Plutarch

English translation by Bernadotte Perrin (1920). Original text: Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 9, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1920 (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.