Enkrateia: Plutarch on self-control and the politics of excess

Abstract

Whether Plutarch made programmatic statements about the moral themes of the Lives or used exemplars to make his point, he relied upon a lingua franca of moral virtues held in common with his audience. Antony and Demetrius failed as leaders, according to Plutarch, because of their primary character flaw, akrasia (lack of selfcontrol). To Plutarch and his audience, enkrateia (self-control) was not simply the opposite of akrasia but part of a nuanced continuum of behavior. This essay briefly examines how Plutarch’s lingua franca of self-control is defined in the Moralia and deployed in the Lives of Alexander, Demetrius, and Antony.