Synopses & Reviews
Plutarch's influential writings on the ancient world.
Plutarch's parallel biographies of the great men in Greek and Roman history are cornerstones of European literature, drawn on by countless writers since the Renaissance. This selection provides intimate glimpses into the lives of these men, revealing why the mild Artaxerxes forced the killer of his usurping brother to undergo the horrific "death of two boats"; why the noble Dion repeatedly risked his life for the ungrateful mobs of Syracuse; why Demosthenes delivered a funeral oration for the soldiers he had deserted in battle; and why Alexander self-destructed after conquering half the world.
Review
“Fabulous selection with excellent notes.”
--David A. Graf, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Miami
Synopsis
The biographies collected in this volume bring together Plutarch's Lives of those great men who established the city of Rome and consolidated its supremacy, and his Comparisons with their notable Greek counterparts. Here he pairs Romulus, mythical founder of Rome, with Theseus, who brought Athens to power, and compares the admirable Numa and Lycurgus for bringing order to their communities, while Titus Flamininus and Philopoemen are portrayed as champions of freedom. As well as providing an illuminating picture of the first century AD, Plutarch depicts complex and nuanced heroes who display the essential virtues of Greek civilization - courage, patriotism, justice, intelligence and reason - that contributed to the rise of Rome.
These new and revised translations by W. Jeffrey Tatum and Ian Scott-Kilvert capture Plutarch's elegant prose and narrative flair. This edition also includes a general introduction, individual introductions to each of the Lives and Comparisons, further reading and notes.
The Rise of Rome is the penultimate title in Penguin Classics' complete revised Plutarch in six volumes. Other titles include Rome In Crisis, On Sparta, Fall of the Roman Republic, The Age of Alexander and The Rise and Fall of Athens.
Synopsis
Rome's famed historian illuminates the twilight of the old Roman Republic from 157 to 43 BC in succinct accounts of the greatest politicians and statesmen of the classical period.
- Includes a new introduction, a new essay on the revised Plutarch editions, notes, a glossary, and updated suggestions for further reading
Synopsis
The latest installment in our fully revised edition of Plutarchs Lives of the great men of the ancient world, this volume focusing on early Rome
The biographies collected in this volume bring together Plutarchs 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 civilizationcourage, patriotism, justice, intelligence, and reasonthat contributed to the rise of Rome.
About the 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.
Table of Contents
Makers of Rome Introduction
1. Coriolanus
2. Fabius Maximus
3. Macellus
4. Cato the Elder
5. Tiberius Gracchus
6. Gaius Gracchus
7. Sertorius
8. Brutus
9. Mark Antony
Appendix
Maps