Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans

by Plutarch, Charlton Griffin (Narrator)

The nine Lives in this selection trace a crucial phase in ancient history. Plutarch's Lives of the great Greek statesmen and men of action were designed to pair with the now better-known Roman portraits and contain many of his finest descriptions of war, revolution and heroic achievement.

They include studies of Demosthenes and Phocion, the leading Athenian orators; of Agesilaus, the Spartan King, and Pelopidas, the Theban military hero; of Dion and Timoleon, the 'liberators' of Sicily; and, above all, of three generals – Demetrius 'the Besieger', Pyrrhus and Alexander the Great.

Genres: History

Audiobook

Published January 1, 2015

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

[Darjeeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: This isn't the exact edition that I read, but I can't be bothered to be more specific.

I recommend Plutarch's Lives to anyone who spends a lot of time thinking about the Roman Empire.

[Alyssa Bohon]

Not rating this one because I don't think I'm qualified to rate it - I mean, it's a classic. Anyway, I feel like having 5 stars for getting all the way through the whole grim, grisly, enlightening, thought-provoking, classic thing!

The lives really do give a perspective on how human personality affects history, and how certain decisions and character traits often lead to certain results. Many times, men who had a virtuous character and sought to do good ended up being hated and killed, and other times, vicious characters were hated and killed. Power is such a lodestone for haters. As I listened to part of this over the Advent season, I especially saw these histories in the light of a Greek and Roman world ripe for the coming of Christ.

Since many of these lives overlapped Bible times, Plutarch enriched my understanding of the Bible also.