Plutarch's most important literary work is unanimously considered to be the Parallel Lives, which are parallel biographies, pairing a Greek and a Roman politician or general, totaling 48, of which 46 have survived.

He also wrote the Ethics, a vast number of treatises on topics such as virtue, theology, religion, politics, and the role of philosophy in shaping the character, mainly of public men, whose choices and actions have always influenced the lives of those in power. However, it seems that with his Ethics, he felt he did not achieve his objective goal of influencing the people of his time and leading them towards the path of virtue, during a time when the Roman Empire was at its zenith and heading towards inevitable decline.

Thus, he turned to the biographies of great politicians and generals of the past, to provide more tangible and humane examples - role models for emulation of their great moments or to avoid their unlawful activities. At the forefront of his selections are Solon with Poplicola, Themistocles with Camillus, Aristides with Cato, Pericles with Fabius Maximus, Alcibiades with Marcellus, Pelopidas with Markellius, Alexander with Caesar, Agesilaus with Pompey, Demetrius with Antony, among others.

In his Parallel Lives, Plutarch clearly states that he does not write history nor focuses his interest on the recording of their most notable deeds, but rather, with real figures and true situations, he examines their inner world and provides readers with the necessary historical material to understand the characters of these famous men and their moral behavior.

Thus, in a masterful way, Plutarch reflects upon and marries his knowledge of the past with the need for moral uplifting of nations and leaders, in a time marked by clear signs of decay.

[Excerpt from the publisher's or edition presentation text]