In the speech against the peace with Pyrrhus that Plutarch attributes to Appius Claudius Caecus, the elderly senator reproaches his colleagues for being inclined to come to terms with the king of Epirus. One of Appius’ main arguments is that, if they do so, they will prove that Alexander the Great would have defeated the Romans if he had attacked them in Italy. Appius, then, reverses the content of Livy’s famous excursus on Alexander and his certain defeat by the Romans if he had attempted to conquer Italy. Plutarch, therefore, disagreed with Livy’s pro-Roman view and aimed to rebalance in favor of Alexander the prediction about the winner of a clash between Rome and Macedonia.
Plutarco e il discorso contro Pirro di Appio Claudio il Cieco
Flavio Raviola
2022
Abstract
In the speech against the peace with Pyrrhus that Plutarch attributes to Appius Claudius Caecus, the elderly senator reproaches his colleagues for being inclined to come to terms with the king of Epirus. One of Appius’ main arguments is that, if they do so, they will prove that Alexander the Great would have defeated the Romans if he had attacked them in Italy. Appius, then, reverses the content of Livy’s famous excursus on Alexander and his certain defeat by the Romans if he had attempted to conquer Italy. Plutarch, therefore, disagreed with Livy’s pro-Roman view and aimed to rebalance in favor of Alexander the prediction about the winner of a clash between Rome and Macedonia.
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