Greek Lives [Paperback]

Plutarch (Author), Philip A. Stadter (Editor), Robin Waterfield (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0192825011 | ISBN-13: 978-0192825018 | Publication Date: February 4, 1999

Here, Plutarch introduces the major figures and periods of classical Greece, detailing the lives of nine personages, including Lycurgus, Solon, Themistocles, Cimon, Alexander, Pericles, Nicias, Alcibiades, and Agesilaus. Oxford presents the most comprehensive selection available, superbly translated and accompanied by a lucid introduction, explanatory notes, bibliographies, maps, and indexes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`It is ... a privilege to be offered this sparkling new translation of nine of his Greek Lives by Robin Waterfield. ... It is ... a distinguishing trait of Waterfield's that in the interests of scholarship he will go to endless lengths to find the mot juste; ... the book entirely fulfils the publisher's own criteria for inclusion in the new Oxford World's Classics list, namely to make available 'celebrated writing' in editions equipped with'perceptive commentary and essential back-ground information to meet the changing needs of readers'. To do all that also at a very modest price is an ergon (achievement) indeed.' Paul Cartledge, The Anglo-Hellenic Review

`This attractively produced addition to the Oxford World's Classics series.' Daniel Ogden, The Classical Review Vol.XLIX No.2

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192825011
• ISBN-13: 978-0192825018
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 2.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #837,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Timeless Classic By One Of The Best Biographers In History, August 9, 2005

By 

Michael A Neulander "Political Philosophy" (VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greek Lives (Paperback)

Plutarch in his "Lives Of The Noble Grecians And Romans" written around 100 C.E., sheds new light on Greek and Roman history from their Bronze Age beginnings, shrouded in myth, down through Alexander and late Republican Rome. Plutarch is the lens that we use today to view the Greco-Roman past; his work has shaped our perceptions of that world for 2,000 years. Plutarch writes of the rise of Roman Empire while Gibbon uses his scholarship to advance the story to write about its decline. He was a proud Greek that was equally effected by Roman culture, a Delphic priest, a leading Platonist, a moralist, educator and philosopher with a deep commitment as a first rate writer. Being a Roman citizen, Plutarch was afforded the opportunity to become an intimate friend to prominent Roman citizens and a member of the literary elite in the court of Emperor Trajan.

Plutarch's influence and enormous popularity during and after the Renaissance is legendary among classicist. Plutarch's "Lives", served as the sourcebook for Shakespeare's Roman Plays "Julius Caesar", "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Coriolanus". By the way Plutarch is even the only contemporary source of all the biographical information on Cleopatra, whom he writes about in his biographies of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian. Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew that there were three books every gentleman had to have familiarity with; Plutarch's "Lives", Livy's "History of Rome" and Virgil's Aeneid. In fact all the founding fathers of note had read Plutarch and learned much from his fifty biographies of noble men of Greece and Rome. When Hamilton, Jay and Madison write "The Federalist Papers" they use many examples of good and bad leadership traits that they read in Plutarch's work. His biographies are a great study in human character and what motivates leaders to decide and act the way they do, this masterpiece has proven to be still prescient today.

If you are truly interested in a classical education, put this book on the top of your list! I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reading, July 30, 2004

By 

richard lionhearted (Philly,PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greek Lives (Paperback)

Some of these bios are simply fascinating, especially the ones of Lycurgus, Alexander the Great and Themistocles. Plutarch tends to do character sketches, as opposed to lenghty reports of battles. For example, most of the military campaigns of Alexander the Great are simply glossed over. However, he does show the moral actions and personalities of his characters. He is also a very good writer and fun to read; not too dry at all. I would suggest this book for several reasons:
1) To decide if you would like to read more Plutarch. 2) You have mastered ancient history and are looking for character portrayals of these people. 3) You are looking for in introduction for study of the ancients.

5.0 out of 5 stars Biography, not history, June 16, 2009

By 

reader 451 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greek Lives (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I hate Plutarch, if only because he is indispensable. His numerous Lives are all that is left of large sections of Greek and Roman history, or are essential corroboration for other, scarce sources.

To modern readers, Plutarch can easily sound annoying. His portraits are invariably red-cheeked and gleaming-eyed. Vice and virtue are his main measures of men (and the few women). `His skin used to emit a delightful odour and... his mouth and whole body used to be bathed in a fragrance which filled his clothes,' he says of Alexander. And later: `his self-restraint was apparent in his stubborn disregard for physical pleasures. He also had less penchant for wine than is generally thought. He gained his reputation because he dragged out the time he took over each cup, but it was time spent talking rather than drinking...' Yeah, right. Yet this is excellent, colourful, and entertaining biography. The characters jump out of the page. The times are evoked magnificently. Some people like to see in Plutarch timeless lessons on human psychology and behaviour; without going so far, his Lives certainly provide unmatched insights into the thoughts and beliefs of the ancients.

As to history, one needs to be aware how this came to us. In antiquity, works were copied in schools, especially of rhetoric. Thus what ensured they were reproduced in large numbers, and had a chance of survival in the ensuing Dark Age, was style, not content. Likewise, medieval copyists, all monks, were interested in the moral lessons of the works they preserved. (There are exceptions to this: invaluable papyri were found intact in the Egyptian desert; but these are rare.) Plutarch passed both the stylistic and moral tests. But he lacks the structure of a Thucydides or a Polybius. His works are not graspable without context - a context which the introductions contained in this edition don't quite supply, even if they help. So the history enthusiast needs to be warned: this is great biography, but to the historian it is only supplementary, if essential, material.

This edition contains only nine of Plutarch's Greek Lives: Lycurgus, Solon, Themistocles, Cimon, Pericles, Nicias, Alcibiades, Agesilaus, and Alexander. A number of the less prominent characters treated by Plutarch need to be looked for in other editions (Theseus, Pelopidas, Pyrrhus, Lysander...).