Makers of Rome: Nine Lives (Penguin Classics)

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 937 EAN: 9780140441581 ISBN: 0140441581 Label: Penguin Classics Manufacturer: Penguin Classics Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 368 Publication Date: 1965-10-30 Publisher: Penguin Classics Studio: Penguin Classics
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Editorial Reviews: These nine biographies illuminate the careers, personalities and military campaigns of some of Rome's greatest statesmen, whose lives span the earliest days of the Republic to the establishment of the Empire. Selected from Plutarch's "Roman Lives", they include prominent figures who achieved fame for their pivotal roles in Roman history, such as soldierly Marcellus, eloquent Cato and cautious Fabius. Here too are vivid portraits of ambitious, hot-tempered Coriolanus; objective, principled Brutus and open-hearted Mark Anthony, who would later be brought to life by Shakespeare. In recounting the lives of these great leaders, Plutarch also explores the problems of statecraft and power and illustrates the Roman people's genius for political compromise, which led to their mastery of the ancient world.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Plutarch Comment: Plutarch is able to create a Roman collective past through her great heroes of the past. this book is less history than it is favorable moral making through reliving the "glory days" but this work is important and one of the best sources we have for early Rome. Customer Rating: Summary: Blood trafficking Comment: Plutarch's biographies of 9 important political and military leaders give the reader an in depth insight into the workings of the Roman Empire. It is a gloomy picture of a world dominated by the wealthy patricians at home and by Roman generals and their foot folk at large. Rome's democratic system consisted of two parties: the patricians (the wealthy aristocrats and landowners) represented by the consuls and the plebeians represented by the tribunes. However, the tribunes had to be unanimous. If one defected to the other party, the patricians controlled completely the political scene. `Coriolanus' was a staunch defender of the ancient aristocratic laws. `Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus' were tribunes of the plebs. The former proposed agrarian (land distribution) and the latter political (shunting the aristocratic Senate) reforms. The former was clubbed to death and the latter decapitated by the patricians. A dictatorship, assuming all (life and death) powers, was heavily opposed by `Brutus'. A very important and stabilizing factor in Roman life was religion (`Fabius Maximus': `fix people's thoughts upon religious matters to strengthen their confidence'). The augurs occupied a cardinal function, being sometimes pressed to pronounce inauspicious omens (`Marcellus'). One respected oracular instruction imposed the burying alive of a Greek and a Gaul man and woman. For the author this was absolutely not superstition. Plutarch was in no way a Lucretius. Another important civil servant was the censor (`Cato the Elder"), who had the right to inquire into the lives and manners of all citizens. At large, Rome was first on the defensive during the Punic wars (`Fabius Maximus' and `Marcellus'). But later, it went on an offensive spree, conquering the whole Mediterranean world. The vanquished cities and their inhabitants were partly offered as salary to their soldiers. The generals, like `Sertorius', pocketed enormous wealth in land, precious metals and slaves. With their big armies, they plotted and fought among themselves to grab as much power as possible within the empire. A most appalling new low was reached with the agreement between the triumvirate `Mark Antony' - Lepidus - Octavius to put to death 300 senators and 2000 equites in order to seize their possessions and fill the war coffers of the triumvirs: `I can conceive of nothing more savage or vindictive than their trafficking in blood.' Plutarch's dramatic presentation of the creation and barbarous functioning of the first world empire is an essential read for all those interested in the history of mankind. Customer Rating: Summary: The Best Roman Lives from Plutarch in One Volume Comment: This collection from Plutarch's Lives covers the rise of the republic and the begining of its disintegration. Some of the best of his Roman biographies are included here including Fabius Maximus, Marcellus, and Mark Antony. The struggle with Hannibal created some of the most memorable moments in Roman history and the lives of Fabius and Marcellus are our only sources for some of the details of that period. These men were great human beings whose example has served Western Civilization for two thousand years thanks to Plutrach's memorialization. For those interested in ancient history this modern translation is indespensible, but I would recommend this volume in particular to high school students as a door to undertanding character in the development of Western civilization. Besides the military heroes, we have in this volume the lives of great statesmen who deeply inspired the founding fathers of the American colonies (the Grachi) and we also have an example in Mark Antony of how power mongers can erode the fabric of a republic. This is a great volume and a great translation. Customer Rating: Summary: A Timeless Classic By One Of The Best Biographers In History Comment: Plutarch in his "Lives Of The Noble Grecians And Romans" written around 100 C.E., sheds new light on Greek and Roman history from their Bronze Age beginnings, shrouded in myth, down through Alexander and late Republican Rome. Plutarch is the lens that we use today to view the Greco-Roman past; his work has shaped our perceptions of that world for 2,000 years. Plutarch writes of the rise of Roman Empire while Gibbon uses his scholarship to advance the story to write about its decline. He was a proud Greek that was equally effected by Roman culture, a Delphic priest, a leading Platonist, a moralist, educator and philosopher with a deep commitment as a first rate writer. Being a Roman citizen, Plutarch was afforded the opportunity to become an intimate friend to prominent Roman citizens and a member of the literary elite in the court of Emperor Trajan. Plutarch's influence and enormous popularity during and after the Renaissance is legendary among classicist. Plutarch's "Lives", served as the sourcebook for Shakespeare's Roman Plays "Julius Caesar", "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Coriolanus". By the way Plutarch is even the only contemporary source of all the biographical information on Cleopatra, whom he writes about in his biographies of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian. Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew that there were three books every gentleman had to have familiarity with; Plutarch's "Lives", Livy's "History of Rome" and Virgil's Aeneid. In fact all the founding fathers of note had read Plutarch and learned much from his fifty biographies of noble men of Greece and Rome. When Hamilton, Jay and Madison write "The Federalist Papers" they use many examples of good and bad leadership traits that they read in Plutarch's work. His biographies are a great study in human character and what motivates leaders to decide and act the way they do, this masterpiece has proven to be still prescient today. If you are truly interested in a classical education, put this book on the top of your list! I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history. Customer Rating: Summary: Required jr. high reading Comment: As a mother of a "tween" and teacher of Western Civ to jr. high aged kids, I think this should be required reading for all public schools. It is the perfect material for asking normative questions. Who cares what we are today; ask them what we ought to be!! More Reviews