Write an essay of around 1000 words which directly addresses the Main Question stated here. Secondary Questions which can be understood as falling under the general umbrella of the main question.
MAIN QUESTION
What does Plutarch’s Life of Cato the Elder tell us about the Roman nobiles, and about the structure and values of the elite culture over which they presided?
SECONDARY QUESTIONS
What characteristics does Plutarch suggest made Cato a successful politician and/or a public figure worthy of admiration? What aspects of his personality does Plutarch particularly emphasize, and what might this suggest to us about the nobiles as a class? As a novus homo, and therefore a relative outsider to Roman politics, what kinds of barriers did Cato face to reaching the highest elected offices, and what helped him overcome these challenges? What values or assumptions seem to underly Cato’s attitude towards the Greeks? What about the Carthaginians? What does his career suggest about the nobiles and their attitude towards the empire Rome now ruled by the second century BCE? Do any aspects of his life, as narrated by Plutarch, seem especially far-fetched or idealized? If so, what might these suggest about Roman elite ideals and values?