Plutarch

Plutarchs's (46-120 A.D.) epic chronicle of the lives of great Grecians and Romans. Beginning with the founding of Rome and Athens, the lives of the men who created the ancient world are brought to life in this new, high quality recording. Greats such...

This epic chronicle by Plutarch (A.D. 46-120) continues with the lives of great Grecians and Romans. These biographies of the men who created the ancient world are brought to life in this new, high-quality recording. Legends such as Caesar, Alexander,...

Though he was Greek, Plutarch wrote his Lives in the first century, a world dominated by the Roman Empire. Plutarch’s series of biographies was the first of its kind, as much groundbreaking in conception as the Histories of Herodotus. Plutarch looked...

The Life of Aemilius is one in a series of many biographies by Plutarch of notable Greek figureheads. In this biography, the Life of Aemilius details his extensive military service, then his election to office. From here, it talks about his family...

To understand the relationship between Athens and Sparta, Plutarch set out to examine the lives of Greece and all its former and current rivals in his Parallel Lives series. Agesilaus was one of those lives and was a notable king of Sparta prior to...

Alcibiades was a powerful man who made powerful enemies. Within a single war, his loyalties changed multiple times as he fled one enemy after another, bringing his unorthodox tactics to every strategic position he held. This charismatic,...

The Life of Alexander is one of many notable Greek figure biographies written by Plutarch in his series “Parallel Lives”. Alexander is arguably one of the most notable Greek figures, immortalized in stories and legends that are commonly used in...

Mark Antony’s personal life was almost as storied as his immensely successful political career. In Plutarch’s biography, the most striking sections revolve around Antony’s relationship with Cleopatra. Plutarch’s characterization inspired Shakespeare,...

The Life of Aratus is one of the many biographies detailed in Plutarch’s integral work, Parallel Lives. In the Life of Aratus, Plutarch details the dynamic work done by the successor of Nicocles and talks about his advocacy to turn Greece into a...

Not many of the people featured in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives series are honored with nicknames, but to his fellow Athenians, Aristides was known as “The Just”. A Grecian statesman, The Life of Aristides details the political rise of the man from the...

Plutarch set out to understand the lives of the political greats of his time when he wrote his famous Parallel Lives, of which The Life of Artaxerxes is included. Artaxerxes was fairly unique among the mix of famous names listed here, as he was a...

Plutarch wrote all the biographies in Parallel Lives with a certain flair for valuing characterization over strict historical documentation. “The Life of Brutus” was no exception. By painting a complex portrait of the man behind Julius Caesar’s...

Julius Caesar peaked as one of the most powerful generals in Roman history. In “The Life of Caesar,” Plutarch attempts to capture the greatness of this man on paper. With stirring prose, he documents Caesar’s military might and rousing spirit. The...

Caius Gracchus was barely a man when his older brother Tiberius was assassinated for his reforms on behalf of the poor. After this, Caius tried to live a quiet life away from the public eye, perhaps afraid of meeting the same fate. Yet in Plutarch’s...

We all know the founder of Rome, but do we know much about the widely-proclaimed second founder of Rome? The monarchy, tyranny, and victorious battles of Marcus Furius Camillus, the second founder, are documented in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives. After...

Cato the Elder rose from his Plebeian ancestry to become a great Roman senator, orator, and historian. While he was the first in his family to hold elected office, Cato proudly declared that his military roots made bravery a family trait. Plutarch...

Cato the Younger was one of the many biographies documented by Plutarch in his series called Parallel Lives. Related to Cato the Elder, Cato the Younger was also a student of philosophy as well as a Roman Statesman. Afterhis father died and he gained...

In “The Life of Cicero,” Plutarch details the priceless contributions Cicero made to Roman society. He translated the works of Greek philosophers into Latin, gained acclaim as an orator and lawyer, and was elected to office. Politics ultimately got...

The Life of Cimon is just one of many notable biographies in Plutarch’s informative Parallel Lives series. Cimon, an Athenian Statesman, was the son of the general who won Greece’s battle of Marathon. Battling and defeating the Persian Empire on...

Though Sparta and Greece were once bitter rivals, this did not stop Plutarch from writing about Spartan figureheads in his book, Parallel lives. Cleomenes was one of these Spartan figureheads – and was the King of Sparta for many years. From...

One of the many documented lives in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives series, The Life of Coriolanus looks into the controversial life of one of Rome’s most famous generals. When the town of Corioli was under siege, Coriolanus gathered a group of men together...

The Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus formed the First Triumvirate with Caesar and Pompey. The collaboration proved difficult, as egos clashed amidst the wars the men waged. Yet Crassus proved himself to be the linchpin of their alliance in the...

The Life of Demetrius is only one of the many biographies documented in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives. Young when he came to rule, Demetrius was only 22 when he was given defense of Syria by his father. After a series of military failures and wins, he...

In contrast to some of the other, bloodier names listed in Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, Demosthenes was a great orator and politician. The Life of Demosthenes starts out uniquely, detailing Demosthenes’ commitment to his study – one so fierce that he...