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Plutarch’s Lives
“Lives” is a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans by the ancient Greek historian Plutarch who lived during the first and second century AD. The work consists of twenty-three paired biographies, one Greek and one Roman, and four unpaired, which explore the influence of character on the lives and destinies of important persons of ancient Greece and Rome. Rather than providing strictly historical accounts, Plutarch was most concerned with capturing his subjects common moral virtues and failings. This volume includes the complete “Lives” in which you will find the biographies of the following Theseus, Romulus, Lycurgus, Numa Pompilius, Solon, Poplicola, Themistocles, Camillus, Pericles, Fabius, Alcibiades, Coriolanus, Timoleon, Æmilius Paulus, Pelopidas, Marcellus, Aristides, Marcus Cato, Philopœmen, Flamininus, Pyrrhus, Caius Marius, Lysander, Sylla, Cimon, Lucullus, Nicias, Crassus, Sertorius, Eumenes, Agesilaus, Pompey, Alexander, Cæsar, Phocion, Cato the younger, Agis, Cleomenes, Tiberius Gracchus, Caius Gracchus, Demosthenes, Cicero, Demetrius, Antony, Dion, Marcus Brutus, Aratus, Artaxerxes, Galba, and Otho. Plutarch’s “Lives” remains today as one of the most important historical accounts of the classical period.
2156 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 17, 2018
About the author
Plutarch
3,617 books780 followersPlutarch (later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus; AD 46–AD 120) was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist. Plutarch's surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 15, 2022
Audible.com 7 hours and 22 min. Narrated by Ray Atherton (A)
Plutarch wrote detailed biographies of legendary Greek and Roman leaders of which four are included in this book. The first two are mythical, Theosus the Greek king who defeated the Minotaur and Romulus who went on to the found the Roman empire. The next two characters were far more interesting. Marc Antony who followed Caesar and was seduced by Cleopatra. The final chapters told about the life of Cicero, an influential, orater, statesman and philosopher. I really enjoyed the lives on Mark Antony and Cicero.
I did a little more research and fought that since Plutarch's Lives is now in eminent domain anyone can freely use it. I compared the life of Antony to which I listened to a pdf and found I was reading the revised translation of Hugh Clough.
Plutarch wrote detailed biographies of legendary Greek and Roman leaders of which four are included in this book. The first two are mythical, Theosus the Greek king who defeated the Minotaur and Romulus who went on to the found the Roman empire. The next two characters were far more interesting. Marc Antony who followed Caesar and was seduced by Cleopatra. The final chapters told about the life of Cicero, an influential, orater, statesman and philosopher. I really enjoyed the lives on Mark Antony and Cicero.
I did a little more research and fought that since Plutarch's Lives is now in eminent domain anyone can freely use it. I compared the life of Antony to which I listened to a pdf and found I was reading the revised translation of Hugh Clough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2020
After 25% in this book I am going to take a break from it (at least take it off from my "currently reading" list, so that I don't feel guilty for not reading for months). It is definitely a book worth reading, although if you start this project, take another translation. I found this one very tiresome - long and convoluted phrases, which sometimes were really difficult to follow. This is probably the reason why my reading progress was so slow and the fact I am only rating it 4 stars. Apart from that, the book is filled with great historical information about very interesting characters.
My favorite so far is Alcibiades.
My favorite so far is Alcibiades.
January 8, 2022
Wow! I did it! Hey look, Ma, I made it. I’ve owned this classical history for years, and after many false starts, I started making headway in 2018. Finally, in 2022, I finished it.
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Harry Truman set a big store by Plutarch, and I guess I couldn’t let Harry out do me, as I have a lot of respect for him. How about some quotes by and about Harry Truman.
-Something I wish I had considered before dropping out of Test Pilot School:
Senator Russel to Harry when he had just made it to the Senate. ‘Harry, don’t start out with an inferiority complex. You’ll spend the first 6 months wondering how you got here, and the rest of the time wondering how the hell the rest of us got here.’
-Something to think about when I need motivation:
A crowd member at a rally shouted, ‘Give’em Hell, Harry.’ To which Truman responded, ‘I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.’
-Something to think about when I feel like I can’t do something:
Harry Truman had poor eyesight but wanted to be an officer in the Great War, so he memorized the eye chart.
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I could go on and on, but you get the point. As for Plutarch, he just tells the truth and they think it’s history.
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Harry Truman set a big store by Plutarch, and I guess I couldn’t let Harry out do me, as I have a lot of respect for him. How about some quotes by and about Harry Truman.
-Something I wish I had considered before dropping out of Test Pilot School:
Senator Russel to Harry when he had just made it to the Senate. ‘Harry, don’t start out with an inferiority complex. You’ll spend the first 6 months wondering how you got here, and the rest of the time wondering how the hell the rest of us got here.’
-Something to think about when I need motivation:
A crowd member at a rally shouted, ‘Give’em Hell, Harry.’ To which Truman responded, ‘I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.’
-Something to think about when I feel like I can’t do something:
Harry Truman had poor eyesight but wanted to be an officer in the Great War, so he memorized the eye chart.
===
I could go on and on, but you get the point. As for Plutarch, he just tells the truth and they think it’s history.
March 3, 2022
As a stand alone with no other historical knowledge, this book would not be so interesting, as it is just a bunch of biographies of long dead ancients. But, as a connecting work, it is invaluable, as it gives the human touch to all the old dates and maps. The more you read history, ancient or modern, the more you will get out of Plutarch. His biography of Numa explains the origins of the Catholic Church. His parallel biography of Lycurgus explains the origins of the communist gulag state. Solon, Themistocles, Pericles, Pyrrhus (of the pyric victory), Lysander, not to mention Alexander, Caesar, and Cicero are all here, waiting to be remembered
August 27, 2022
It took me about a year to get through this reading a few pages at a time on my iPad. It's one of the classics, and as a history buff I felt like I had to get it done. It is longer than Herodotus's The Histories and not as good, but it's still an interesting look at the values of the ancient Romans through these biographies of ancient Greeks and Romans. I am not sure it's really worth reading the entire thing. It's like hiking the entire length of Appalachian Trail; you could just hike some good parts of it and have a good time without killing yourself. My favorite biography by far is Solon.
Shelved as 'dnf'
July 22, 2021DNF
I don't know if it's the translation I read, but the writing is so dry I would need eye drops to go through this. I just couldn't be bothered. Most of it (at least the Theseus vs. Romulus chapter, which is the farthest I got) is based on legends anyway. Take Homer, remove all the fun, and what you get is this book.
I don't know if it's the translation I read, but the writing is so dry I would need eye drops to go through this. I just couldn't be bothered. Most of it (at least the Theseus vs. Romulus chapter, which is the farthest I got) is based on legends anyway. Take Homer, remove all the fun, and what you get is this book.
June 5, 2021
An amazing book that gives you more than just history, but an analysis of these titans of Rome and Greece. Filled with wit, and even some head to head comparisons make it a great way to learn more about these two eras in history.
November 3, 2020
Incredible Read
I Love it! It was incredible 🙂! Pericles and Lycurgus of Sparta are must read biographies. This book is a five star read.
I Love it! It was incredible 🙂! Pericles and Lycurgus of Sparta are must read biographies. This book is a five star read.
February 28, 2021
Fun to read source materials.
July 20, 2022
A culturally significant book that every academic and pseudo intellectual and even layman should attempt to read. It’s a book that will give you enormous Perspective
August 16, 2022
If humanity were to be represented to aliens by a single book, I'd vote for this one.
Want to read
December 2, 2023Xenophon's Anabasis, and Alex Petkas' "Cost of Glory" podcast, has really piqued my interest in this as a massive bio-history of Greece.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews