Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Comparative Biographies of Greek and Roman Leaders in Classical Moral PhilosophyBy Plutarch
Length80h 32m
About this audiobook
Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans is one of antiquity's great works of comparative biography, pairing eminent Greek and Roman statesmen, generals, and lawgivers to illuminate character through action. Written in an elegant moralizing prose rather than as strict political history, the Lives examines ambition, virtue, fortune, courage, and civic duty through memorable episodes and searching judgments. Its literary context lies between historiography, philosophy, and ethical instruction, and its influence on Renaissance humanism, Shakespearean drama, and modern biography is immense. Plutarch, a Greek intellectual of Chaeronea writing under the Roman Empire, was deeply shaped by the meeting of Greek paideia and Roman power. As a priest at Delphi, philosopher, and civic figure, he was especially interested in how education, temperament, and public responsibility form moral identity. His dual cultural inheritance enabled him to treat Greece and Rome not as rivals, but as mirrors through which political greatness and human frailty could be studied. This book is highly recommended to readers interested in classical antiquity, leadership, political ethics, or the origins of biography. It rewards slow reading, offering not merely accounts of famous lives, but enduring reflections on how public actions reveal the soul.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.4 (1.1K)
Includes Amazon, Goodreads
GenreBiography and Memoir
Length80 hrs 32 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMay 15, 2018
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans (Annotated)
2Introduction
3Author Biography
4Historical Context
5Synopsis (Selection)
Show all chaptersShow less
6Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans - Volume 1
7Theseus
8Romulus
9Comparison of Romulus with Theseus
10Lycurgus
11Numa Pompilius
12Comparison of Numa with Lycurgus
13Solon
14Poplicola
15Comparison of Poplicola with Solon
16Themistocles
17Camillus
18Pericles
19Fabius
20Comparison of Pericles with Fabius
21Alcibiades
22Coriolanus
23Comparison of Alcibiades with Coriolanus
24Timoleon
25Aemilius Paulus
26Comparison of Timoleon with Aemilius Paulus
27Pelopidas
28Marcellus
29Comparison of Pelopidas with Marcellus
30Aristides
31Marcus Cato
32Comparison of Aristides with Marcus Cato.
33Philopoemen
34Flamininus
35Comparison of Philopoemen with Flamininus
36Pyrrhus
37Caius Marius
38Lysander
39Sylla
40Comparison of Lysander with Sylla
41Cimon
42Lucullus
43Comparison of Lucullus with Cimon
44Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans - Volume 2
45Nicias
46Crassus
47Comparison of Crassus with Nicias
48Sertorius
49Eumenes
50Comparison of Sertorius with Eumenes
More from Plutarch
The Greatest Classics of Roman LiteraturePlutarch, Livy, Suetonius, Tacitus, Polybius, Ammianus Marcellinus, Sallust, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Julius Caesar, Emperor of Rome Augustus, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, Flavius Josephus, Sextus Julius Frontinus, Marcus Aurelius, Titus Lucretius Carus, Terence, Ovid, Horace, Virgil, Tibullus, Petronius Arbiter, Juvenal, Persius, Sulpicia, Lucilius, Lucius Apuleius695h 45m$2.99
Parallel Lives (Annotated)Plutarch80h 36m$2 · $0.00
Plutarch's Romane QuestionsPlutarch7h 23m4.0 (220)$1 · $0.00
Lives of the Noble Grecians and RomansPlutarch79h 12m4.3 (3.6K)$1 · $0.00
Plutarch's MoralsPlutarch16h 7m4.3 (283)$1 · $0.00
The ABCs of History: A 14-Book Series for Young ExplorersPlutarch, Andrew Lang, Jennie Hall, Charlotte M. Yonge, Mrs. Beesly, John S. White, Agnes Strickland, Henry Gilbert, Elbridge S. Brooks, Henrietta Christian Wright, Mary Stoyell Stimpson, James Otis, James H. Shaw, Lydia Hoyt Farmer103h 43m$1.99
Leben der großen Griechen und RömerPlutarch85h 28m4.3 (3.3K)$3 · $0.00
Bad Fat Black GirlSesali Bowen6h 32m4.7 (2.8K)$24 · $0.00
Send MeMarty Skovlund, Joe Kent8h 10m4.7 (1.6K)$26 · $0.00
Left for DeadEbony Canion5h 34m4.7 (2.2K)$17
John Muir: The Story of My Boyhood and Youth & Letters to a Friend (Annotated)John Muir10h 13m4.7 (1.1K)$1.99 · $0.00
Invisible StormJason Kander6h 48m4.7 (3.2K)$24 · $0.00
Forever BoyKate Swenson9h 27m4.7 (5K)$29 · $0.00
You Are Worth ItKyle Carpenter, Don Yaeger8h 53m4.7 (4.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Happiest Man on EarthEddie Jaku3h 48m4.6 (178K)$7 · $0.00
MotherlandJulia Ioffe17h 52m4.7 (2.5K)$40 · $0.00
Evidence Not SeenDarlene Deibler Rose11h 11m4.6 (11.9K)$29 · $0.00
A Bridge Not Too FarDeepak Ohri4h 55m4.8 (179)$15
Where Cowards Go to DieBenjamin Sledge8h 42m4.7 (351)$20 · $0.00
Will You Love Me?Cathy Glass9h 5m4.6 (9.3K)$29 · $0.00
Designing Terry Pratchett’s DiscworldPaul Kidby3h 52m4.7 (343)$20 · $0.00
HostageEli Sharabi5h 25m4.6 (10.8K)$24 · $0.00
Finding MeViola Davis9h 15m4.6 (256.4K)$29 · $0.00
Scandal Between the Sheets & Stranded with the Tempting StrangerBrenda Jackson9h 22m4.8 (141)$24 · $0.00
The Dangerous Truth about Today’s MarijuanaLaura Stack CSP, MBA9h 57m4.7 (384)$20 · $0.00
The Boys and MeMark Miller8h 32m4.8 (218)$23
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
You may also like
The History of Rome (Vol. 1-4)Livy102h 18m4.1 (10.2K)$1 · $0.00
The Life of Sir Thomas More (Annotated)William Roper2h 55m4.2 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
LeaderDevdutt Pattanaik5h 43m4.0 (295)$18 · $0.00
Hawaii's StoryLiliʻuokalani12h 17m4.2 (2.8K)$1 · $0.00
The History of Rome (Vol. 1-4)Livy102h 20m4.2 (759)$2 · $0.00
The Life of Sir Thomas MoreWilliam Roper, Henri Brémond9h 29m4.1 (1.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
Founders of a Continent - 3 Classic European BiographiesThomas Hodgkin, Alfred John Church, Margaret Oliphant25h 13m$2
THE HISTORY OF ROME (Complete Edition in 4 Volumes)Livy102h 16m4.6 (154)$2 · $0.00
On the Embassy to Gaius (Annotated)Philo4h 22m$2 · $0.00
Great Men and Famous Women (Vol. 1-8) (Annotated)Various94h 24m3.4 (28)$1.99 · $0.00
ArthashastraRadhakrishnan Pillai6h 37m$18 · $0.00
Peter Paul RubensMaria Varshavskaya, Xenia Yegorova3h 19m4.0 (28)$16 · $0.00
The Russian OperaRosa Newmarch10h 9m$2 · $0.00
RomulusJacob Abbott4h 54m3.5 (75)$1 · $0.00
A History of Ireland and Her People (Annotated)Eleanor Hull37h4.2 (23)$2 · $0.00
NAPOLEONCharles Downer Hazen, Napoleon Bonaparte, William Milligan Sloane, Alexandre Dumas, Louis Constant Wairy, Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné Las Cases236h 53m3.8 (27)$1.99 · $0.00
Exploring the essence of Persian artVladimir Lukonin, Anatoli Ivanov1h 33m4.6 (10)$13 · $0.00
NAPOLEON - The Man Behind the Myth (Annotated)Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Downer Hazen, Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné Las Cases, Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Louis Constant Wairy231h 25m4.4 (13)$1.99 · $0.00
Memoirs of the Life, Exile, and Conversations of the Emperor Napoleon (Vol. 1-4) (Annotated)Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné Las Cases66h 48m4.6 (12)$2 · $0.00
The Life of Michelangelo BuonarrotiJohn Addington Symonds14h 16m4.0 (190)$1 · $0.00