Plutarch · c. AD 46-after 119
Parallel Stories (Greek and Roman Parallel Stories)
Συναγωγὴ ἱστοριῶν παραλλήλων Ἑλληνικῶν καὶ ῬωμαϊκῶνThe Parallel Stories (Parallela minora, Greek and Roman Parallel Stories) is a short collection of forty-one pairs of tales. Each pairs an episode of Greek legend or history, quoted from a named authority, with a supposed Roman counterpart. It is transmitted among Plutarch's Moralia, but ancient writers and modern scholars regard it as not by him, and many of the Roman parallels and the authors quoted are not otherwise known. It nevertheless preserves a number of variant myths, among them Smyrna and Cinyras, Philonome's twins, Evenus and Marpessa and Hegesistratus' founding of Elea.
Contents · 5 passages
- 0–6Preface; Marathon, Xerxes, Thyreatis, Thermopylae, Midas and Amphiaraus1693 words
- 7–14Pyraechmes, Philip's eye, Icarius, Pausanias, Epaminondas' son, Iole and Metellus1433 words
- 15–22Brennus, the triplets, Ilus and the Palladium, Codrus, Erechtheus, Cyanippus and Smyrna1624 words
- 23–31Diomedes, Polymestor, Phocus and Telamon, Meleager, Macareus, Aristonymus and the Sardians1417 words
- 32–41Pisistratus of Orchomenus, Chrysippus, Hippolytus, Helena, Philonome, Orestes, Busiris and others2096 words
More by Plutarch
English translation by John Oswald (1874). Original text: William W. Goodwin (ed.), Plutarch's Morals, translated from the Greek by several hands, vol. 5, Boston: Little, Brown and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874 (Greek text: Gregorius N. Bernardakis, Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, vol. 2, Leipzig: Teubner, 1889, 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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