Plutarch (Greek: Πλούταρχος, Latin: Plutarchus) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. Born around 46 CE in Chaeronea, Boeotia (central Greece), he came from a prominent local family and received an education, studying philosophy, rhetoric, and ethics in Athens. Plutarch traveled widely, including at least one visit to Rome, where he me

Born: ca. 46 CE, Chaeronea, Boeotia, Greece

Died: After 119 CE (most likely between 120–125 CE)

• Author of Parallel Lives , a foundational work of comparative biography.

• Author of Moralia , a vast collection of philosophical and ethical essays.

• Bridging Greek and Roman intellectual traditions during the early Roman Empire.

• Influencing Western literature, philosophy, and historical writing for nearly two millennia.

Browse all 100–200 AD works

Plutarch (Greek: Πλούταρχος, Latin: Plutarchus) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. Born around 46 CE in Chaeronea, Boeotia (central Greece), he came from a prominent local family and received an education, studying philosophy, rhetoric, and ethics in Athens. Plutarch traveled widely, including at least one visit to Rome, where he met officials and scholars, yet remained deeply attached to his Greek heritage and home city, serving as a priest at Delphi for much of his life. His works, especially the Parallel Lives and Moralia , influenced essay, biography, and historical writing in Europe from the Renaissance onward.

Author of Parallel Lives , a foundational work of comparative biography.

Author of Moralia , a vast collection of philosophical and ethical essays.

Bridging Greek and Roman intellectual traditions during the early Roman Empire.

Influencing Western literature, philosophy, and historical writing for nearly two millennia.

• “The whole life of man is but a point of time; let us enjoy it.” ( Moralia )

• “Nature without learning is blind, learning apart from nature is fractional, and practice in the absence of both is aimless.” ( Moralia )

• “Not by lamentations and mournful chants ought we to celebrate the funeral of a good man, but by hymns, for in ceasing to be numbered with mortals he enters upon the heritage of a diviner life.” ( Moralia )

Parallel Lives and Moralia have shaped the genres of biography, historical narrative, and moral philosophy.

Plutarch’s works were central to Renaissance humanism and influenced major figures such as Shakespeare (who drew on Plutarch for Julius Caesar ), Montaigne, and Emerson.

His approach to character and virtue remains a model for biographers and historians.

Ongoing debates focus on the reliability of his sources, his blending of fact and moral reflection, and his impact on Western ideas of leadership and virtue.

Parallel Lives and Moralia remain widely available in print and digital editions (e.g., Loeb Classical Library, Perseus Digital Library, Project Gutenberg).

Plutarch’s works are core reading in classical studies, philosophy, and literature courses at universities worldwide (evidence: publicly available syllabi).

2001–Present: Annual conferences and scholarly societies (e.g., International Plutarch Society) continue to promote research and debate on his legacy.

2020s: New annotated translations and critical editions published by major academic presses.

Plutarch’s influence is visible in modern leadership studies, ethics curricula, and popular culture references.

Parallel Lives (ca. 100–120 CE)

Paired biographies of Greek and Roman figures (e.g., Alexander the Great & Julius Caesar, Theseus & Romulus).

Each pair is followed by a comparison essay.

Focuses on moral character, decision-making, and the impact of virtue on public life.

Surviving Lives include Solon, Themistocles, Pericles, Alcibiades, Alexander, Julius Caesar, Cicero, and many more.

Over 70 essays and dialogues.

Topics: ethics, politics, education, religion, superstition, friendship, cosmology, theology.

Notable essays: On the Delays of the Divine Vengeance , How to Tell a Flatterer from a Friend , On the Face in the Moon , On the Worship of Isis and Osiris .

Secondary Literature (Scholarship)

Duff, Timothy E. Plutarch’s Lives: Exploring Virtue and Vice . Oxford University Press, 2002.

Pelling, Christopher. Plutarch and History: Eighteen Studies . Classical Press of Wales, 2002.

Stadter, Philip A. Plutarch and the Historical Tradition . Routledge, 1992.

Nikolaidis, Anastasios G., ed. The Unity of Plutarch’s Work: Moralia, Themes, and Techniques . Walter de Gruyter, 2008.

Archival or Online Sources

“Plutarch, Parallel Lives ,” Perseus Digital Library (public domain).

“Plutarch Archive,” University of Oxford, digital collection of manuscripts and correspondence.

“Plutarch’s Moralia PDF Edition,” Loeb Classical Library (freely downloadable).

MORALIST OF ANCIENT GREECE

An engraved portrait of the ancient Greek biographer and essayist Plutarch from a 1565 French edition of his Parallel Lives , accompanied by a poetic caption praising his moral teachings.

A 17th-century portrait of Plutarch, the Greek biographer and philosopher (46–125 AD), rendered in profile with a headscarf, emphasizing his classical profile.

An engraving portraying Plutarch in scholarly contemplation, seated with books and an open text, framed by Greek lettering, created by Léonard Gaultier on laid paper.

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