Plutarch and Suetonius

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plutarch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suetonius

 

The Greek writer and philosopher Plutarch, whose Latin or Roman name is Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, and the Roman writer Gajus Suetonius Tranquillus lived at almost the same time:

 

** Plutarch (46-120)

** Suetonius (69-125)

 

Plutarch was born in Chaeronea, Boeotia, ancient Greece, while Suetonius was born in Hippo Regius, ancient Roman North Africa.

 

Plutarch is the author of the collection known as The Parallel Lives, while Suetonius is the author of the collection known as The Twelve Caesars.

 

How are these works similar to each other and how are they different from each other?

 

They are similar, because they are biographies of famous persons in antiquity

 

They are different, because the Parallel Lives are written in Greek, while The Twelve Caesars are written in Latin.

 

Both collections are available in an English translation.

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. Regarding Plutarch

 

Plutarch and Rome

By C. P. Jones

(1971)

 

Plutarch and History:

Eighteen Studies

By Christopher Pelling

(2002 = hardcover)

(2011 = paperback)

 

A Companion to Plutarch

Edited by Mark Beck

(2014)

 

# 2. Regarding Suetonius

 

Suetonius: The Scholar and His Caesars

By Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

(1983 = hardcover)

(1998 = paperback)

 

Suetonius the Biographer:

Studies in Roman Lives

Edited by Tristan Power and Roy K. Gibson

(2014 = hardcover)

(2018 = paperback)

 

Collected Papers on Suetonius

By Tristan Power

(2021 = hardcover)

(2023 = paperback)

 

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The Parallel Lives

by Plutarch

 

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The Twelve Caesars

by Suetonius

 

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