This paper’s title evokes García Lorca’s play Bodas de Sangre. In fact, the strong contrast we
can find between the feast and the blood is used several times by Plutarch in his Vitae. But
the Author only follows an ancient literary tradition that can be found in mythological texts
as well as in epic and tragic poetry or even in historiography. So, Plutarch makes an important
contribution to what we call “pathetic History”. Our aim is to demonstrate how well Plutarch
fits in this tradition, discussing his qualities and interests as Historian.