Usi e funzioni delle indicazioni numeriche nelle Vite di Plutarco

Numerical indications play an important role in Plutarch’s Lives, both in the characterization of his heroes and in the presentation of the episodes. In order to highlight the idea of a certain (generally large) quantity, Plutarch employs rhetorical expedients, such as impossibility of counting, accumulation of numerical data, combination of numerical indications with generic quantitative ones, comparison of indefinite quantities or measures, opposition between high and low quantities. Plutarch sometimes takes a critical approach to the historical numerical data: he is interested in their possible symbolic value and highlights the cases of instrumental use of numbers, with a special focus on the conventional nature of measurement systems.