This book lucidly explains how the Parallel Lives of Plutarch (c. AD 45-120) are more than mere `sources' for history. The Lives offer us a unique insight into the reception of Classical Greece and Republican Rome in the Greek world of the second century AD. They also explore and challenge issues of psychology, education, morality, and cultural identity.

Plutarch's "Lives of Galba and Otho" constitute the earliest surviving history of the shocking events that shook the Roman Empire in AD 68 and 69 - the rebellions against Nero, his betrayal and suicide, and Galba's disastrous reign, which ended in his murder. No other source preserves such a coherent account of the extraordinary events of 68, and for 69 Plutarch's "Lives" are comparable with Tacitus' "Histories". As well as including a translation, this useful companion explains the background, and provides a commentary that makes serious use of the numismatic evidence.