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Parallel Lives

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description Parallel Lives Overview

Plutarch's collection pairs the lives of prominent Greeks and Romans to examine character and public conduct. Alexander is set beside Julius Caesar, while Pericles is paired with Fabius Maximus. Written around the late first and early second centuries CE, the biographies combine accounts of political and military careers with anecdotes that reveal temperament. Many pairs also include an explicit comparison of their subjects.

The emphasis falls on moral understanding as much as on a record of events. Small gestures can matter alongside major victories because Plutarch uses them to consider how character influences action. That approach helped shape later biographical literature and offers insight into ancient values. Students of classical history and philosophy will find a substantial source for thinking about leadership, while recognizing that its judgments and storytelling belong to an ancient biographer's perspective.

help Parallel Lives FAQ

What pairs of famous figures does Plutarch compare in "Parallel Lives"?

Plutarch pairs prominent Greeks with their Roman counterparts, including Alexander the Great with Julius Caesar, Theseus with Romulus, and Pericles with Fabius Maximus. Each pair is followed by a comparative moral assessment, and the work originally contained 23 paired biographies plus 4 single, unpaired lives.

When did Plutarch write "Parallel Lives"?

Plutarch composed the "Parallel Lives" in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries CE, during the reigns of the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian. He was a Greek-speaking citizen of the Roman Empire who lived in the small Boeotian town of Chaeronea and also served as a priest at Delphi.

Which Shakespeare plays were based on Plutarch's "Parallel Lives"?

Plutarch's biographies were Shakespeare's primary source for three Roman plays: "Julius Caesar," "Antony and Cleopatra," and "Coriolanus." Shakespeare relied on Sir Thomas North's 1579 English translation of Plutarch, which itself was translated from a French version by Jacques Amyot.

How many biographies survive in "Parallel Lives"?

Of the approximately 50 biographies originally written, the majority survive, though a few pairs and individual lives have been lost over the centuries. The surviving texts include 22 paired lives and 4 single biographies, making it one of the most substantially preserved works of classical biography.

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