Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century. The surviving Parallel Lives [in Greek: Βίοι Παράλληλοι (Bíoi Parállēloi)], as they are more properly and commonly known, contain twenty-three pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman, as well as four unpaired, single lives. It is a work of considerable importance, not only as a source of information about the individuals biographized, but also about the times in which they lived.

As he explains in the first paragraph of his Life of Alexander, Plutarch was not concerned with writing histories, as such, but in exploring the influence of character — good or bad — on the lives and destinies of famous men. And he wished to prove that the more remote past of Greece could show its men of action and achievement as well as the nearer, and therefore more impressive, past of Rome. The interest is primarily ethical, although the lives have significant historical value as well. The Lives were published by Plutarch late in life after his return to Chaeronea, and, if one may judge from the long lists of authorities given, must have taken many years in the compilation.

Róisín Marie Murphy (Irish pronunciation: [roːˈʃʲiːnʲ], English: /roʊˈʃiːn/; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her electronic style. Murphy has a contralto vocal range.

Murphy first came to note as one half of the electronic music duo Moloko with her then-boyfriend Mark Brydon. After the two ended their romantic relationship, Murphy released her debut solo album Ruby Blue, written and produced with Matthew Herbert, in 2005. Her second solo album Overpowered was released in 2007.

Murphy was brought up in Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland, in a Roman Catholic family. When she was twelve, her family moved to Manchester, England. Murphy embraced 1960s fashions from going with her mother, an antique dealer, to car boot sales and charity shops. She concealed her singing voice, not wanting other people to know she "sounded like Elaine Paige" when she herself enjoyed listening to the likes of Sonic Youth and Pixies instead.

After three years of living in Manchester, her parents divorced and moved back to Ireland. Murphy insisted on remaining alone in the UK because she did not think that her mother had the strength to continue taking care of her. Murphy lived with her best friend for a year, until she could receive Housing Benefit and live in a nearby flat. She was bullied at school and befriended a group of "weird boys who wore black" and who listened to the Jesus and Mary Chain. She enrolled in a sixth form college at seventeen and later considered going to art school. She moved to Sheffield where she began going to nightclubs and was inspired by the Vivienne Westwood designs she saw at Trash.

Ken Navarro (born June 9, 1953) is an Italian-American Contemporary Jazz guitarist and composer. He first received recognition as a solo artist in 1990 with his song "Try Again" from his debut CD The River Flows. Other well-known songs from his 20 releases include "Eric's Dream", "Delicioso", "Smooth Sensation","You Are Everything", "The Meeting Place", "Daddy-O", "The Stars, The Snow, The Fire" and "Dreaming of Trains". His recordings have featured other notable Contemporary Jazz artists including saxophonists Brandon Fields and Eric Marienthal, bassists Tom Kennedy and Gary Grainger, and drummer Joel Rosenblatt. His latest recording "Dreaming of Trains" was released on March 16, 2010 and has been pre-nominated in 2 Grammy award categories. Navarro's 2012 solo guitar album "The Test Of Time" was released March 20.

Navarro has produced numerous recordings for other Contemporary Jazz musicians including saxophonist Eric Darius and pianist Jay Rowe.

Navarro founded the record label Positive Music Records in 1990 and the label has subsequently released 90 titles.