Plutarch's Lives, Vol. 1

Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 100

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Chapters 32-34Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 32 Summary: “Lysander”

Lysander comes from a poor family and has little interest in money. Like other good Spartans of the time, he values strength and glory. Lysander rises to prominence during the Peloponnesian War, when he is selected to command Sparta’s navy. He makes Ephesus his headquarters, spurring the city’s growth and strengthening Sparta’s navy. The location of Ephesus in Asia Minor also allows Lysander to develop a close relationship with the Persians, and he even befriends Cyrus, the son of the Persian king.

While Lysander is at Ephesus, the Athenian naval commander, Antiochus, picks a fight with him that leads to an open battle. Lysander is victorious and captures a few Athenian ships. The Athenians are so humiliated that they strip Alcibiades, Antiochus’s commanding officer, of his position.

Though Lysander is much-loved in Ephesus, Plutarch notes that he is by no means an honest man. Lysander believes that it is legitimate to resort to even the most deceitful means to achieve one’s goal.

When Cyrus leaves to visit his father, he presents Lysander with a lot of money and promises to bring back a strong fleet to help him fight the Athenians: Lysander only needs to wait for him to return. Lysander, however, does not want to wait. He launches attacks against several Athenian posts and captures the important city of Lampsacus. This is a major loss to the Athenians, who promptly sail against Lysander. Lysander does not rush into an open battle, however, but keeps his ships at anchor until the Athenians finally let their guard down. Then, Lysander launches a lightning attack and takes the Athenians by surprise, capturing their entire fleet and 3,000 prisoners. Lysander’s victory puts an end to the Peloponnesian War.

Lysander executes his prisoners and proceeds toward Athens. He takes control of Athens’s posts along the way. When he reaches Athens, the city immediately surrenders to him. Lysander orders the Athenians to tear down their walls, give up their empire, and disband their fleet. He then changes the Athenian form of government from a democracy to an oligarchy run by 30 tyrants.

Lysander’s successes make him very wealthy, and also allow him to bring much new wealth to Sparta. Many of the more traditional, older Spartans are suspicious about this new wealth, which they believe will corrupt the Spartans. Nevertheless, Lysander’s power spreads. He is the first Greek who is worshiped as a god. His cruelty makes him very feared. Lysander also grows increasingly vain as his glory increases.

Complaints against Lysander are on the rise. Eventually, the Persian official Pharnabazus appeals to Sparta because Lysander pillaged his territory. The Ephors, important figures in the Spartan government, immediately recall Lysander. Lysander is alarmed and tries to smooth things over with Pharnabazus, who pretends to send the Spartans a letter exonerating him but actually sends a letter that contains even more complaints against him.

With Lysander falling out of favor in Sparta, many of the cities he conquered—including Athens—rise up in revolt. The Athenians overthrow the Thirty Tyrants. Lysander gets permission to punish the Athenians. The Spartans really want to undermine Lysander and prevent him from becoming the ruler of Athens. Lysander does not succeed in reinstating the Thirty Tyrants in Athens.

Lysander convinces Agesilaus, the king of Sparta, to invade Asia and fight the Persian Empire. Lysander is very influential in Asia, and Agesilaus soon grows jealous of him. At last Agesilaus sends Lysander as his ambassador to the Hellespont. He returns to Sparta and tries to make changes to the city’s constitution but is unsuccessful.

A little later, when the Spartans are at war with Boeotia, Lysander is taken by surprise and killed by the people of Thebes. He is given an honorable burial. The Spartans are impressed by his poverty at the time of his death, which makes them realize that he behaved the way he did because he wanted to increase not his own wealth, but the wealth of Sparta.

Chapter 33 Summary: “Sylla”

Lucius Cornelius Sylla (or Sulla) is descended from a very important patrician family in Rome. His father is poor and undistinguished, and does not leave much for Sylla to inherit. Though he is well-educated, Sylla is not moral: He is vulgar, cruel, and overly swayed by his passions.

Sylla’s rise to power occurs during a turbulent period in Roman history, marked by political instability and moral decay. Sylla serves as a quaestor under Marius during his campaigns in Africa against Jugurtha. His military exploits and diplomatic acumen earn him recognition and help him force alliances with influential figures such as Bocchus, the king of Numidia. Tensions emerge between Sylla and Marius. Marius grows resentful of Sylla’s rising fame, particularly after Sylla overshadows Marius by orchestrating the capture of Jugurtha. The rivalry between Sylla and Marius escalates into civil unrest and ultimately civil war, pitting Sylla against Marius and his supporters.

Returning to Italy, Sylla soon distinguishes himself in the Social War. As his fame grows, he becomes consul. Sylla prepares to go to war against Mithridates, the king of Pontus, but Marius forces the senate to put him in control of the army. Sylla, however, refuses to turn over the command. He takes his legions and marches on Rome, taking the city and forcing Marius to flee.

After recommending Octavius and Cinna for the consulship, Sylla leaves to fight Mithridates. He beats him in two battles and returns to Rome, where he finds the city in a state of unrest. Marius has returned to Rome in Sylla’s absence, taking control of the city in five days of terrible bloodshed. By the time Sylla arrives, Marius is dead.

Sylla retakes Rome and viciously murders many of his enemies and rivals. He then declares himself dictator and makes many constitutional reforms. After his dictatorship, he retires to his house, though he continues to commit atrocities until his death. Plutarch describes his public funeral, the most lavish that had ever been seen in Rome.

Chapter 34 Summary: “The Comparison of Lysander with Sylla”

Plutarch compares Lysander and Sylla. He notes that though both men tried to make considerable changes to the laws and constitutions of their respective cities, Lysander committed considerably fewer atrocities than Sylla. On the other hand, Sylla was a much more skilled commander than Lysander was.

Chapters 32-34 Analysis

Both Lysander and Sylla are portrayed by Plutarch as great military leaders, but their victories ultimately bring danger to their own cities due to The Role of Leadership and Morality in Public Life. Lysander’s conquest of Athens dramatically increases the wealth and power of Sparta, while Sylla’s victories in Africa and Asia Minor continue the steady expansion of the Roman Empire. Lysander’s victory over the Athenians is a mixed blessing, for the resultant increase in Sparta’s wealth and power brings with it corruption. Lysander’s questionable methods—including bribery and treachery—also cause problems for the Spartans down the road, leading to mounting tensions with other Greek city-states as well as the powerful Persian Empire.

Sylla’s victories, likewise, caused serious damage to Rome, for Sylla was one of the first Roman generals to realize that he could use the large and well-trained state troops under his command as a private army. It is by taking advantage of his soldiers’ loyalty to himself that Sylla was able to seize Rome from his political enemies and have himself appointed dictator. Sylla’s violent seizure of Rome would also lead to a violent bloodbath during Sylla’s “proscriptions,” in which he had his political enemies murdered or expelled.

Both Lysander and Sylla were products of dysfunctional governments or political systems. It is true that both men take advantage of the issues plaguing their states to amass unprecedented power for themselves, but they both also try to do something to correct these issues. Lysander tries to overhaul the Spartan constitution (unsuccessfully), while Sylla makes serious changes to the Roman constitution during his tenure as dictator. Though they often resorted to problematic means, Sylla and Lysander thus sometimes had commendable motives.

Lysander’s death is particularly noteworthy, as his poverty at the time of his death proves to the Spartans that, for all his flaws, “he had not in the least degree, so far as money goes, sought any private aggrandisement” (606), wanting only to make Sparta rich and powerful. Sylla also seemed to have some ambition to increase not only his own power but the power of Rome, even stepping down from the office of dictator when he achieved what he hoped to achieve (later figures, such as Julius Caesar, would be less willing to step down voluntarily).

There is a paradox, then, between the generalship of Lysander and Sylla, on the one hand, and their tyrannical tendencies on the other—a paradox whose dangers Plutarch highlights for his readers through his biographies of the two men.