The latest installment in our fully revised edition of Plutarch’s Lives of the great men of the ancient world, this volume focusing on early Rome
The biographies collected in this volume bring together Plutarch’s Lives of those great men who established the city of Rome, and his Comparisons with their notable Greek counterparts. As well as providing an illuminating picture of the first century A.D., Plutarch depicts complex heroes who display the essential virtues of Greek civilization—courage, patriotism, justice, intelligence, and reason—that contributed to the rise of Rome.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
“Fabulous selection with excellent notes.” --David A. Graf, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Miami
Plutarch (c.50-c.120 AD) was a writer and thinker born into a wealthy, established family of Chaeronea in central Greece. He received the best possible education in rhetoric and philosophy, and traveled to Asia Minor and Egypt. Later, a series of visits to Rome and Italy contributed to his fame, which was given official recognition by the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. Plutarch rendered conscientious service to his province and city (where he continued to live), as well as holding a priesthood at nearby Delphi. His voluminous surviving writings are broadly divided into the ‘moral’ works and the Parallel Lives of outstanding Greek and Roman leaders. The former (Moralia) are a mixture of rhetorical and antiquarian pieces, together with technical and moral philosophy (sometimes in dialogue form). The Lives have been influential from the Renaissance onwards.
View titles by Plutarch
The latest installment in our fully revised edition of Plutarch’s Lives of the great men of the ancient world, this volume focusing on early Rome
The biographies collected in this volume bring together Plutarch’s Lives of those great men who established the city of Rome, and his Comparisons with their notable Greek counterparts. As well as providing an illuminating picture of the first century A.D., Plutarch depicts complex heroes who display the essential virtues of Greek civilization—courage, patriotism, justice, intelligence, and reason—that contributed to the rise of Rome.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Reviews
“Fabulous selection with excellent notes.” --David A. Graf, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Miami
Author
Plutarch (c.50-c.120 AD) was a writer and thinker born into a wealthy, established family of Chaeronea in central Greece. He received the best possible education in rhetoric and philosophy, and traveled to Asia Minor and Egypt. Later, a series of visits to Rome and Italy contributed to his fame, which was given official recognition by the emperors Trajan and Hadrian. Plutarch rendered conscientious service to his province and city (where he continued to live), as well as holding a priesthood at nearby Delphi. His voluminous surviving writings are broadly divided into the ‘moral’ works and the Parallel Lives of outstanding Greek and Roman leaders. The former (Moralia) are a mixture of rhetorical and antiquarian pieces, together with technical and moral philosophy (sometimes in dialogue form). The Lives have been influential from the Renaissance onwards.
View titles by Plutarch
