Plutarch

About Plutarch

Plutarch (c. 46–127 AD) was a prolific Greek biographer and essayist, whose enduring legacy is primarily his series of biographies, the *Parallel Lives*. As a philosopher and Middle Platonist, his work sought to draw moral parallels between famous Greeks and Romans, such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, making him a pivotal figure in shaping Western understanding of classical antiquity. MIT's Pantheon project ranks him #605 in historical importance, reflecting his profound and sustained influence across literature, politics, and moral philosophy throughout history.

In the context of 2025 internet attention, Plutarch currently registers an Attention Gap of approximately 1x, meaning his online presence closely mirrors his historical rank, with 465K annualized Wikipedia views. While this suggests steady, appropriate recognition, a closer look at his peers reveals a potential under-engagement for his field. For comparison, the contemporary philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (#642 importance) garners 740K views, and Hannah Arendt (#818 importance) pulls in 985K views. This suggests that while Plutarch is not actively forgotten, figures within the same academic domain from later centuries receive significantly higher modern digital traffic.

His current trajectory shows a modest, yet positive, Year-over-Year Change of +1.7%, indicating a slight upward drift in interest. However, the 2025 Momentum data reveals a recent cooling, with a -13% drop between Q1 and Q3, suggesting that whatever current interest exists may be waning slightly in the latter half of the year.