Roman Lives: A Selection of Eight Lives [Oxford World's Classics]

This is a nice selection of Plutarch's Roman lives, with excellent introduction and notes by Philip Stadter. Waterfield's translation is readable. One could quibble with the selection: why not include Crassus, Cato the Younger, Brutus, and/or Cicero to round out P's coverage of the late republic (all of them have significant overlaps with Pompey, Caesar, and Marc Antony)? Cato the Elder, Aemilius Paulus, and the Gracchi provide a good overview of Rome in second century BC, but adding Fabius Maximus and/or Titus Flamininus would provide better coverage of Rome's expansion and the resulting problems. But overall, it is a reasonable set.

Plutarch is a valuable historical source, but he is chiefly concerned with character. Some events which show more illustrate that are highlighted, others are scanted. He often presents things out of chronological order for emphasis or contrast. If you are reading this to learn about Roman history, spend a lot of time with the notes. show less