Plutarch’s Lives

by Plutarch, Arthur Hugh Clough

“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.

Genres: History, Classics, Biography, Nonfiction, Historical

2156 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 17, 2018

About the author

Plutarch (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.

Reviews

[Dee Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Enoch Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Glen Leavens · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I read five of the lives of Plutarch. It is a good beginning. I was reading ""The British are Coming"" and the author noted that Knox was self educated and owned a book store. What was his defining book? The lives of Plutarch. So, I had better read some of them. After reading these, I will come back and read more. I can see why this book is still popular today. It is not all glory and honor, but also some asides and failings. Sometimes, too much detail in the asides.
Life of Aristides: Aristides was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed ""the Just"", he flourished at the beginning of Athens' Classical period and is remembered for his generalship in the Persian War. A good snippet of the life of Cato as told by Plutarch. Aristides was hones and good. He had the interests of the empire in mind in all of his actions. Much admired by Plutarch.
Life of Cato the Elder: A good snippet of the life of Cato as told by Plutarch. Marcus Porcius Cato, also known as Cato the Censor, the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. Cato, a self made man was not always loved but stood well in oratory and living a simple life. He took on the tutoring of his son, much to his credit.
COMPARISON OF ARISTIDES WITH MARCUS CATO: The comparison of poverty and why some want riches was fascinating to compare this Greek and Roman statemen. Military virtues are hard to reconcile, and Plutarch points out Cato did not enlarge Rome, whereas Aristides did enlarge Greece.
Life of Alexander:
Life of Lysander: Lysander was a Spartan commander and statesman who was one of the leading military and political leaders of Sparta during the Peloponnesian Wars.
COMPARISON OF LYSANDER WITH SYLLA: Lysander did nothing that was intemperate or licentious, in that full command of means and opportunity, but kept clear, as much as ever man did. and ever maintained a sober, truly Spartan, and well disciplined course of conduct. Whereas Sylla could never moderate his unruly affections, either by poverty when young, or by years when grown old, but would be still prescribing laws to the citizens concerning chastity and sobriety, himself living all that time, in lewdness and adultery. Plutarch does ascribe greater military might to Sylla.
Life of Crassus: Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He was often called ""the richest man in Rome"". Crassus was full of avarice. I do not want that as my defining characteristic. It does make for a good read. In all of these stores, their are elements to emulate and avoid.
COMPARISON OF CRASSUS WITH NICIAS: My favorite line: ""Crassus, on the other hand, committed so many errors as not to leave fortune room to show him favor."""

[Douglass Gaking · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Lino]

DNF

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.

[Chris Sobbing · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Michelle Jackman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible Read

I Love it! It was incredible 🙂! Pericles and Lycurgus of Sparta are must read biographies. This book is a five star read.

[Tink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read source materials.

[Carter Reads Classics · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If humanity were to be represented to aliens by a single book, I'd vote for this one.

[Karen Carlson]

Xenophon's Anabasis, and Alex Petkas' "Cost of Glory" podcast, has really piqued my interest in this as a massive bio-history of Greece.