Plutarch of Chaeronea was the author of essays, dialogues, and letters known collectively as the Moralia as well as a collection of paired biographies known as the Parallel Lives. He was a kind man, devoted to his family and friends, and active in public life, both political and religious. He lived his long and productive life in Chaeronea, northwest of Athens, where he served as a priest of Delphi and a representative to the Roman Empire. His works have been appreciated for centuries because of their humanity and inspirational qualities.

Most of what modern scholars know about Plutarch's education, travels, and religion comes from his own works. His great-grandfather Nicarchus -- an eyewitness to events surrounding the climactic Battle of Actium fought by Octavian (the future Caesar Augustus) and Mark Antony -- surely had an influence on the young Plutarch's interest in the past. In his life of...