Makers of Rome: Nine Lives by Plutarch Makers of Rome: Nine Lives by Plutarch
by Authors: Plutarch , Ian Scott-Kilvert
Released: October, 1965
ISBN: 0140441581
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Makers of Rome: Nine Lives by Plutarch > Customer Review #1: It will leave you wanting more.
Plutarch remains one of the most popular Roman-era historians, and it is easy to see why. The leaders whose lives he details in this volume were men in whom circumstance and ambition combined to create larger-than-life heroes who continue to instruct and inspire curious students of the past even today. The epoch spanned by their lives (c. 500 BCE - 30 BCE) saw the transformation of Rome from beleaguered village republic to imperial mistress of the Mediterraneana period filled with the clash of battle, political intrigue, and the full gamut of human nature, from hatred and betrayal to the noblest acts of bravery and sacrifice. Plutarchs flair for dramatic license doesnt so much undermine the factual underpinnings of his accounts so much as it breathes life into them.
Plutarchs Lives were originally published in pairs comparing and contrasting the parallels between a leading figure from Greek history and a Roman counterpart. These pairings are of little value to modern readers and the editor of this volume has chosen a selection of Roman lives that make more sense, thematically. My only complaint is that the selection is not a comprehensive one; Plutarch wrote several other lives that fit into both the time period and the historical theme of this volume but which are not included. They form a companion volume, "The Fall of the Roman Republic," which is also highly recommended. | |
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