Editing Plutarch (section)

===Lives of the Roman emperors===
Plutarch's first biographical works were the Lives of the Roman Emperors from [[Augustus]] to [[Vitellius]]. These early emperors' biographies were probably published under the [[Flavian dynasty]] or during the reign of Nerva (AD 96–98). Of these, only the Lives of [[Galba]] and [[Otho]] survive. The Lives of [[Tiberius]] and [[Nero]] are extant only as fragments, provided by Damascius<ref>(Life of Tiberius, cf. his Life of Isidore) Ziegler, Konrad, Plutarchos von Chaironeia (Stuttgart 1964), 258. Citation translated by the author.</ref> as well as Plutarch himself,<ref>Life of Nero, cf. Galba 2.1</ref> respectively. There is reason to believe that the two Lives still extant, those of Galba and Otho, "ought to be considered as a single work." Therefore, they do not form a part of the Plutarchian canon of single biographies – as represented by the Life of [[Aratus of Sicyon]] and the Life of [[Artaxerxes II of Persia|Artaxerxes II]] (the biographies of [[Hesiod]], [[Pindar]], [[Crates (comic poet)|Crates]] and Daiphantus were lost). ''Galba-Otho'' can be found in the appendix to Plutarch's ''Parallel Lives'' as well as in various Moralia manuscripts, most prominently in [[Maximus Planudes]]' edition where Galba and Otho appear as ''Opera'' XXV and XXVI. Thus it seems reasonable to maintain that ''Galba-Otho'' was from early on considered as an illustration of a moral-ethical approach.{{cn|date=December 2024}}