The Rise of Rome (Penguin Classics)

The biographies collected in this volume bring together Plutarch's Lives of those great men who established the city of Rome and consolidated its supremacy, and his Comparisons with their notable Greek counterparts. Here he pairs Romulus, mythical founder of Rome, with Theseus, who brought Athens to power, and compares the admirable Numa and Lycurgus for bringing order to their communities, while Titus Flamininus and Philopoemen are portrayed as champions of freedom. As well as providing an illuminating picture of the first century AD, Plutarch 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.

These new and revised translations capture Plutarch's elegant prose and narrative flair. In his introduction, Jeffrey Tatum discusses the purpose and style of the Lives, and Plutarch's research and historical sources. This edition also includes individual introductions to each of the Lives and Comparisons, further reading and notes. Translated by Christopher Pelling, Ian Scott-Kilvert and W. Jeffrey Tatum with an introduction by Jeffrey Tatum