"The glory that was Greece" is nowhere better preserved for the student and the modern reader than in "Plutarch"s Lives". Here is one of the most nearly contemporary accounts of the careers of the great lawgivers and governors of Athens: Pericles, Alcibiades, Demosthenes, Alexander the Great, Solon, Lycurgus, Theseus, Themistocles, Timoleon. "Plutarch"s Lives" stands among the first great books of world literature. It is read today both as history and for the brilliance of its style and reportorial skill. Plutarch"s scheme was to compare the lives of outstanding Greek figures with those of his own Roman compatriots, and his book placed Greek and Roman side by side. This selection from "Lives of the Noble Greeks" has been made as a companion volume to "Lives of the Noble Romans" so that Plutarch"s essential purpose could be perpetuated in this authorative and inexpensive edition. All the Roman plays of Shakespeare are drawn heavily from Plutarch.