Plutarch's Lives

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, probably written at the beginning of the second century AD. The surviving Parallel Lives 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. Contents 1. Theseus 2. Romulus 3. Comparison of Romulus with Theseus 4. Lycurgus 5. Numa Pompilius 6. Comparison of Numa with Lycurgus 7. Solon 8. Poplicola 9. Comparison of Poplicola with Solon 10. Themistocles 11. Camillus 12. Pericles 13. Fabius 14. Comparison of Pericles with Fabius 15. Alcibiades 16. Coriolanus 17. Comparison of Alcibiades with Coriolanus 18. Timoleon 19. Aemilius Paulus 20. Comparison of Timoleon with Aemilius Paulus 21. Pelopidas 22. Marcellus 23. Comparison of Pelopidas with Marcellus 24. Aristides 25. Marcus Cato 26. Comparison of Aristides with Marcus Cato. 27. Philopoemen 28. Flamininus 29. Comparison of Philopoemen with Flamininus 30. Pyrrhus 31. Caius Marius 32. Lysander 33. Sylla 34. Comparison of Lysander with Sylla