The great hero of the Athenian pantheon, who unified his city and laid the foundation of democracy, and the divine founder of Rome, legislator, and reformer of the Roman state. The biographer and philosopher Plutarch (circa 50-120 AD) was born in Chaeronea, Boeotia. Through his travels, he broadened his horizons and came into contact with prominent figures of his time, mainly distinguished Romans.

He spent most of his life in his homeland and held public priestly offices. His surviving works are distinguished into historical-biographical parts and the so-called 'Ethical' writings. In the 'Parallel Lives', notable Greeks and Romans are compared, and the worlds each represents are indirectly contrasted.

In the 'Ethical' writings, issues of ethics, philosophy, science, politics, literary criticism, and topics from the fields of religion, nature, history, etc. are developed, sometimes in the form of dialogues and other times as essays or dissertations.

Erudite and possessing a keen intellect, the author expressed traditional Greek values with simplicity and an optimistic outlook. His work both delights and educates, serving as a significant source of literature from the classical and Alexandrian periods.