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In chapter nine of his Life of Demetrius, Plutarch records an amorous interlude between Demetrius the Besieger and Cratesipolis, the widow of Polyperchon's son, Alexander. Plutarch is our sole source for this incident. Perhaps he was struck-as we can hardly fail to be-by a sense of whimsy in the story of a liaison between lovers named 'She Who Rules the City'1 and 'The Besieger of Cities'. There is nothing especially unusual about the affair itself, as Demetrius is remembered as a prodigal womaniser,2 but the historical context, timing and circumstances are bizarre, and warrant investigation.
Plutarch inserts the Cratesipolis affair at the beginning of Demetrius' siege of Megara, in August 307,3 an extremely unlikely point for a general to abscond on a dangerous and frivolous adventure. The rendezvous is said to have occurred at some place between Megara and Patrae, where Cratesipolis was allegedly living at this stage.4 The two cities were separated by nearly 150 kilometres of enemy territory and, if the anecdote is based on fact, Demetrius took a colossal risk in leaving his army in the Megarid at the commencement of a difficult siege operation, for mere self-gratification. Indeed, the escapade very nearly ended in disaster when the tryst came to the attention of his enemies, and the Besieger escaped by the narrowest of margins, abandoning his tent and belongings. The incident is barely credible, yet for some reason has only occasionally raised scholarly eyebrows before now.5 The reason is swiftly discovered. Plutarch's biographies straddle the boundaries of several literary genres, and many Plutarchean scholars investigate them from a philological, thematic or textual standpoint, being less concerned about the exigencies of historical feasibility.6 This is hardly surprising, as Plutarch himself declares (Alex. 1.2) that he is not writing Histories, but Lives,7 and proceeds to assemble his narratives for didactic pur-poses and to portray character, often with little regard for such niceties as time, place and context. Moreover, it should be noted in this case that Plutarch yokes the Cratesipolis affair to another more verifiable anecdote: Demetrius' meeting with Stilpo, the philosopher.8 Is it possible that the biographer has juxtaposed Cratesipolis and Stilpo to make a moral point: Demetrius' possessions are material, and subject to plunder, while...