Plutarch's Parallel Lives are foundational to Western literature and have exerted significant influence on writers and politicians since the Renaissance, particularly on Shakespeare. This selection of ten biographies spans from the early 4th century BC to the early 3rd century and covers some of the most important figures in Greek history, such as the orator Demosthenes and Alexander the Great, as well as lesser-known individuals like Plato's student, Dion of Syracuse. Each Life is a significant literary work in itself, but collectively they provide a vivid picture of the Greek world during a period marked by the collapse of Spartan power, the rise of Macedonia, Alexander's conquests, and the wars of his successors. Timothy Duff's revised edition of Ian Scott-Kilvert's translations is accompanied by a new general introduction, as well as introductions and notes for each Life. It also adds two Lives not previously included: Artaxerxes I, Great King of Persia from 405 to 359 BC, and Eumenes of Cardia, one of Alexander's officers.