Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119
Life of Otho
ὌθωνPlutarch's Life of Otho covers the three months of Marcus Otho's rule as Roman emperor, his war against Vitellius, and his suicide after the defeat of his army near Bedriacum. It is mainly an account of the civil war and of the quarrels between Otho's generals and his unruly soldiers. Plutarch adds what Mestrius Florus told him about the battlefield and his own sight of Otho's modest tomb at Brixillum.
Contents · 7 passages
- 1.1–3.8Otho as emperor: Marius Celsus, Tigellinus and the soldiers' riot at the palace1079 words
- 4.1–5.6Otho and Vitellius: abusive letters, omens and the flooding of the Tiber842 words
- 6.1–7.5Placentia and the ambush near Cremona751 words
- 8.1–10.3Otho's council of war and the decision to fight near Bedricum816 words
- 11.1–14.2The battle of Bedriacum and the surrender of Otho's army1377 words
- 15.1–16.3Otho's speech: he chooses to die rather than reign711 words
- 17.1–18.4The death of Otho and his tomb at Brixillum729 words
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English translation by Bernadotte Perrin (1926). Original text: Bernadotte Perrin (ed. and trans.), Plutarch's Lives, vol. 11, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1926 (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.
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