This study analyses the defense of moderation in eating and drinking in the Essay on the Life
and Poetry of Homer ascribed to Plutarch, looking at the author’s use of quotations from the Iliad
and the Odyssey. Food and wine are considered necessary and beneficial but, when consumed to
excess, can have adverse effects on human health. The text forms part of a well-known tradition,
as is evidenced by parallels with ancient medicine and Plutarch himself.