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Plutarch Lives I & II

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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