The Roman official, a staunch representative of the ruling class, and the charismatic yet self-destructive Athenian politician and beloved companion of Socrates. The biographer and philosopher Plutarch (circa 50-120 AD) was born in Chæronea, Boeotia.

Through his travels, he broadened his intellectual horizons and came into contact with prominent figures of the time, mainly notable Romans. He spent most of his life in his homeland and held public priestly positions. His surviving work is distinguished into the historical-biographical part and the so-called 'Moral' writings.

In the 'Parallel Lives', eminent Greeks and Romans are compared, and the worlds each represents are indirectly contrasted. In the 'Morals', issues of ethics, philosophy, science, politics, literary criticism, as well as topics from the realm of religion, nature, history, etc., are developed, sometimes in the form of dialogues and other times in treatises or dissertations.

Academically versatile and with a refined mind, the author expressed traditional Greek values with simplicity and an optimistic perspective. His work delights and teaches, while being an important source of literature from the classical and Hellenistic periods.