This work joins two collections from Plutarch's Moral Essays, the Roman Questions and the Greek Questions, written in the late first or early second century CE. Both take the same form: each entry puts a question about a custom, rite, name or saying and answers it, the Roman ones often with several possible causes set side by side without a verdict between them.
The Roman Questions, the first and longer collection, deal with Roman religion, marriage, the calendar and public life: why a bride must touch fire and water, why five torches are lit at weddings, why the flute-players go about the city in women's dress at the Ides of January, why a Roman priest must keep clear of public office. Plutarch cites Roman authorities, Varro among them, and draws on Greek history and philosophy for his answers. The Greek Questions turn to particular Greek cities, among them Epidaurus, Cyme, Cnidus, Miletus, Chalcis and Megara, and explain the names of their officials and groups, their local rites and their proverbs, often by a piece of local history, such as the Milesian faction that met on board ship. Both collections are transmitted among the Moral Essays in the medieval manuscripts of Plutarch.
Plutarch of Chaeronea Roman and Greek Questions: summary and contents (PDF)
Plutarch of Chaeronea Roman and Greek Questions: summary and contents (Markdown)
Contents
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Αἴτια Ῥωμαϊκά Roman Questions
Plutarch asks why Roman customs are as they are and offers several possible causes for each, citing authorities such as Varro. The questions run from why a bride must touch fire and water and why five torches are lit at weddings, to why the flute-players roam the city in women's dress at the January Ides and how the meat market got its name. The last asks why a Roman priest should keep clear of public office.
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Αἴτια Ἑλληνικά Greek Questions
The Greek counterpart to the Roman questions explains the institutions, names and rites of particular Greek cities: the countrymen of Epidaurus called dusty-feet, the adulteress of Cyme paraded on a donkey, the councillors of Cnidus. Many answers are local histories, such as the Milesian faction that debated on board ship, or Nauplius guarded at Chalcis. The collection closes with the Megarians who rolled wagons of pilgrims into a lake and the Amphictyons' punishment.