10 The Lives of the Caesars and Plutarch's other Lives^ ARISTOULA GEORGIADOU The Lives ofGalba and Otho have, in general, drawn very little attention from scholars, unlike other Lives. It seems that originally they were a part of a series of biographical sketches running from Augustus to Vitellius. Only these two now survive of the eight Lives of the Caesars which are mentioned in the Lamprias Catalogue. Consequently, observations and suggestions about the lost Lives can only be speculative.^ How are we to regard the Lives of Galba and Othol Where do they stand in relation to the Parallel Livesl I shall attempt to answer these questions by focusing in this paper on a few prominent features of these two Lives. Let us first examine Plutarch's programmatic statement at the beginning of the Life ofGalba and then compare it with similar statements which appear in other Lives. After a few sentences summing up the character of the times, he breaks off, reminding himself that a detailed account of such events would belong to a full, systematic history, whereas he must confine himself to what the Caesars did and suffered.^ So, he makes it clear from the beginning that he is leaving the narration of details to formal history, but that he will not pass over what is worth mentioning in the actions and experiences of the emperors. Likewise, he says in ' A slightly different version of this paper was delivered at the International Conference of the Plutarch Society, in Athens, in the Summer of 1987, entitled "Short Lives, Short Reigns: the Lives ofGalba and Otho'' I am indebted to Dr David Larmour and Professors J. Geiger, D. Sansone, Ph. A. Sladter, who read the article in manuscript and offered several helpful suggestions. ^ Apart from Plutarch, accounts of the brief reigns of these two emperors are also given by Suetonius, Tacitus (Hisl. i. 1-ii. 49) and Dio Cassius (64. 1-15). For the dating of these two Lives see J. Geiger, "Zum Bild Julius Caesars in der romischen Kaiserzeit," Hisloria Band 24, Heft 3 (1975) 444-53 and R. Syme, "Biographers of the Caesars," Museum Helveticum 37 (1980) 104-28, esp. pp.104-1 1. Galba 2. 5 ta (iev ouv Ka6' EKaoxa t<ov yevonevcov ajtayyeXXeiv otKpiPSx; xfi^ TtpaYiiaxiKfj^ loTopiaq ecttiv, oaa 8e a^ia Xoyou xoic; toiv Kctiodpojv 'ipyoic, xai ndSeoi <Jv^ne^T<DKEv, ouSe Efioi npooriKei napeXGEw.