Roman Lives

hough he was Greek, Plutarch wrote his Lives in the first century, a world dominated by the Roman Empire. Plutarch's series of biographies was the first of its kind, as much groundbreaking in conception as the Histories of Herodotus. Plutarch looked at the great men in the Ancient World and told their stories, in many cases drawing on sources which are no longer available to us. They offer a unique insight into the characters as well as the achievements of men who influenced their age and the empires that their culture dominated. Here he considers some of the major figures that had left their stamp on the history of Rome, including generals, rulers, philosophers and politicians.