Tracing the growth of ancient biography from the 5th century to the 1st century BC, Arnaldo Momigliano asks useful questions about the origins and development of Greek biography. By clarifying the social and intellectual implications of the fact that the Greeks kept biography and autobiography distinct from historiography, he contributes to an understanding of a basic dichotomy in the Western tradition of historical writing. This classic study is now reissued with the addition of Momigliano's essay "Second Thoughts on Greek Biography".