Plutarch Lives I & II

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