Plutarch

Author of the Parallel Lives and father of Western biographical literature.

Life

Chaeronea

Plutarch was born in Chaeronea in central Greece, studied philosophy in Athens, lectured in Rome several times, befriended many powerful Romans, and was granted Roman citizenship.

Priest at Delphi

In his later years he served as a priest at the temple of Delphi and wrote in his hometown. His Parallel Lives pairs a Greek with a Roman for comparison; 23 pairs and four single lives survive, and their focus is less on listing facts than on portraying character. He also wrote many ethical and philosophical essays, later collected as the Moralia.

Parallel Lives

Died c. 120 CE.

Legacy

Plutarch's biographies are one of the most important sources for later knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman figures, and they deeply influenced Shakespeare, Montaigne and Rousseau.

Major works & achievements

• Parallel Lives
• Moralia

Did you know? He said he was writing "not histories, but lives," and that a jest often reveals a man's character better than a battle in which tens of thousands die.

Key dates

• 66Studied philosophy in Athens (approx.)
• 95Became priest at Delphi (approx.)
• 100Writes the Parallel Lives (approx.)
• 120Died (approx.)