Books by Plutarch

Constitute one of the earliest surviving history of the shocking events that shook the Roman Empire in AD 68 and 69 - the rebellions against Nero, his betrayal and suicide, and Galba's disastrous reign, which ended in his murder.

Plutarch (c. 45-120 CE) wrote on many subjects. His extant works other than the Parallel Lives are varied, about sixty in number, and known as the Moralia (Moral Essays). They reflect his philosophy about living a good life, and provide a treasury of information concerning Greco-Roman society, traditions, ideals, ethics, and religion.

These ten Lives trace the history of Hellenistic Greece from the rise of Macedon and Alexander's conquest of the Persian empire to the arrival of the Romans. Plutarch's biographies of eminent politicians, rulers, and soldiers combine vivid portraits with a wealth of historical information.

Plutarch's essay 'How to Study Poetry' offers a set of reading practices intended to remove the potential damage that poetry can do to the moral health of young readers. It opens a window on to a world of ancient education and scholarship which can seem rather alien to those brought up in the highly sophisticated world of modern literary theory and criticism. The full Introduction and Commentary, by two of the world's leading scholars in the field, trace the origins and intellectual affiliations of Plutarch's method and fully illustrate the background to each of his examples. As such this book may serve as an introduction to the whole subject of ancient reading practices and literary criticism. The Commentary also pays particular attention to grammar, syntax and style, and sets this essay within the context of Plutarch's thought and writing more generally.

As well as providing an illuminating picture of the first century AD, the author 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.

Plutarch's parallel biographies of the great men in Greek and Roman history are cornerstones of European literature, drawn on by writers and statesmen since the Renaissance, most notably by Shakespeare. This selection provides intimate glimpses into the lives of these men, depicting, as he put it, 'those actions which illuminate the workings of the soul'. We learn 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, the most enigmatic of tyrants, self-destructed after conquering half the world.

The companion volume to Plutarch's Greek Lives published in Oxford World's Classics in 1998, Roman Lives is a newly translated selection from Plutarch's rich, elegant and learned Lives, valued throughout the ages for their historical value and their charm. The lives included are those of Marcus Cato, Aemilius Paullus, The Gracchi, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Julius Caesar and Anthony. Closely annotated with bibliographies, maps and an index,this is the ideal edition for all students of classical history.

This collection of essays has a commentary and evaluative bibliography on Plutarch. With the original text and translation, it is designed to help readers understand and appreciate two sources for the study of gender and the family in the Graeco-Roman world and in Western history.