by Plutarch
Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century. The surviving Parallel Lives (Greek: Βίοι Παράλληλοι, Bíoi Parállēloi) comprises twenty-three pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman, as well as four unpaired, single lives. It is a work of considerable importance, not only as a source of information about the individuals described, but also about the times in which they lived.
As he explains in the first paragraph of his Life of Alexander, Plutarch was not concerned with writing histories, but with exploring the influence of character, good or bad, on the lives and destinies of famous men. He wished to prove that the more remote past of Greece could show its men of action and achievement as well as the nearer, and therefore more impressive, past of Rome. His interest was primarily ethical, although the lives have significant historical value as well. The Lives was published by Plutarch late in his life after his return to Chaeronea and, if one may judge from the long lists of authorities given, it must have taken many years to compile.
The following chronology of legendary and historical figures whose biographies appear in the Lives is organized by date of death, as birth dates in antiquity are more often uncertain. All dates are BC except Galba and Otho.
- Theseus 1264–1204
- Romulus 771–717
- Numa Pompilius d. 673
- Lycurgus c. 700 – 630
- Solon 638–558
- Poplicola d. 503
- Coriolanus c. 475
- Aristides 530–468
- Themistocles 524–459
- Cimon 510–450
- Pericles 495–429
- Nicias 470–413
- Alcibiades 450–404
- Lysander d. 395
- Camillus 446–365
- Pelopidas d. 364
- Agesilaus 444–360
- Artaxerxes c. 440 – 358
- Dion 408–354
- Timoleon 411–337
- Alexander the Great 356–323
- Demosthenes 384–322
- Phocion 402–318
- Eumenes 362–316
- Demetrius d. 283
- Pyrrhus 318–272
- Agis c. 245
- Cleomenes d. 219
- Aratus 271–213
- Marcellus 268–208
- Fabius Maximus 275–203
- Philopoemen 253–183
- Flamininus 228–174
- Aemilius Paulus 229–160
- Cato the Elder 234–149
- Tiberius Gracchus c. 164 – c. 133
- Gaius Gracchus 154–121
- Gaius Marius 157–86
- Sulla 138–78
- Sertorius c. 123 – 72
- Lucullus 118–56
- Crassus 115–53
- Pompey 106–48
- Cato the Younger 95–46
- Julius Caesar 100–44
- Cicero 106–43
- Brutus 85–42
- Mark Antony 83–30
- Galba 3 BC – 69 AD
- Otho 32 AD – 69 AD
About the Author:
Plutarch; later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus c. AD 46 – AD 120) was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Lives and Moralia. Plutarch's surviving works are believed to have been originally written in Koine Greek.
2 Volume Features:
- Genuine Italian cowhide binding
- 22k gold spine
- Gilded front cover
- Gilded page edges
- Archival-quality paper
- Original interior layout
- Arrangement by Greek chronological order
- Translation and Introduction by Bernadotte Perrin
- Illustrations by Jost Amman from the 1580 Latin edition
- A vital classic of Greek and Roman history
- Limited edition of 750
Vol I 745 pages, Vol II 803 pages, leatherbound, hardcover
