An Indirect Fragment of Boiotian historiography in Plutarch? A Historical defence of the Love Stories

The article readdresses the authorship of the Love Stories and argues that, for one of them, Plutarch recurred to a local Boiotian source. The first section introduces the methodology and the inclusion of local historiography among the possible sources of the collection. Then, the Third Story is summarised and briefly introduced, before focusing on the myth of the Leuktridai. The study of this subject and of its ancient tradition aims at explaining the originality of the version of Plutarch. Finally, the existence of a Boiotian source is further explained, on the basis of other internal hints.