Description Plutarch’s Plutarch most famous work consists of paired biographies, with one Greek and one Roman in each volume. Most of the biographies include a direct comparison of the characters of the individuals portrayed. Plutarch’s aim was not so much to present the historical facts of each person’s life as to study their character and psychological makeup. The Parallel Lives constitute an important source of information about major historical figures. For some of those portrayed, Plutarch provides details that are not found in any other sources. The biographical pairs are: Solon – Publicola Themistocles – Camillus Theseus – Romulus Lycurgus – Numa Pompilius Pericles – Fabius Maximus Coriolanus – Alcibiades Aristides – Cato the Elder Pelopidas – MarcellusAgis and Cleomenes – Tiberius and Gaius GracchusAemilius Paulus – Timoleon Agis and Cleomenes – Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus Aemilius Paulus – Timoleon Dion – Brutus Cimon – Lucullus Pyrrhus – Gaius Marius Philopoemen – Titus Flamininus Nicias – Crassus Phocion – Cato the Younger Alexander – Julius Caesar Demosthenes – Cicero Lysander – Sulla Agesilaus – Pompey Eumenes – Sertorius Demetrius – Mark Antony Aratus – Artaxerxes Galba – Otho
