Marcus Aurelius: The Philosopher King Who Ruled Rome

Marcus Aurelius 161 to 180 CE was a Roman Emperor best known as the last of the five good Emperors of Rome following nerva tragan hadrien and antoninus pasus and as the author of The philosophical work meditations although it has been claimed he instigated a persecution of Christians modern scholarship argues against this he has long been respected as embodying the platonic concept of the philosopher king as articulated in Plato's Republic a ruler who does not seek power for his own sake but to help his people he was introduced to philosophy at a young age and his meditations composed while on campaign in his 50s make clear that he held a deeply philosophical specifically stoic view throughout his life his Reign is defined by the stoic View and he is referred to as the philosopher by the later historian cashes Dio 155 235 CE a history of Roman emperors his stoic Outlook is expressed throughout his meditations and his view of one's responsibility to others is made clear in a line from book 8 people exist for the sake of one another teach them then or bear with them he lived his philosophy in both his private and public life in that he consistently placed the needs of the people before his desires or visions of glory and worked for the common good it is among history's ironies however that his Reign is characterized by incessant Warfare and the alleged persecution of the new religious sect of Christianity even so he successfully conducted campaigns in Germania and managed the Affairs of the Empire efficiently he died of natural causes following an illness in 180 CE and was instantly deified in the modern day he is probably best known from the popular film Gladiator as the father of Commodus whose decision to pass over his son as successor serves as The Point of Departure for the film's plot contrary to his depiction in the film aelius was not killed by Commodus and Commodus would co- rule with his father from 177 to 180 CE and succeeded him without opposition though he would prove to be one of the worst rulers Rome would have to endure and his reputation suffered further by comparison with his father Marcus Aurelius was born in Spain on 26th April 121st CE to an aristocratic Patrician family his birth name was Marcus anus Veris after his father of the same name his grandfather and great-grandfather on his father's side were senators and his mother demisia Lucilla known as the minor5 161 CE also came from a wealthy and politically connected family aurelius's father died in 124 CE and he was raised primarily by nurses and his grandfathers events from his early life are suggested by comment he makes in his meditations from correspondence between himself and his teacher fronto and from the Historia austa which though often considered unreliable is still cited by Scholars when certain passages seem probable details of his younger years therefore are scarce but it is assumed he would have been brought up by traditional Patrician practices learned Greek at the same time he was learning Latin and would have been groomed for a public life in rhetoric and oratory when when he was in his early teens around 132 CE a teacher named diognetus introduced him to philosophical texts these were most likely works of the cynic philosophers who sought to live most simply and disregarded all social conventions as artifice Aurelius seems to have been quite impressed with this Outlook as he then affected a typically cynic lifestyle of dressing in a rough Woolen cloak and sleeping on the ground or the floor of his room instead of his bed he mentions this in meditations book I6 in referencing how he chose the Greek Lifestyle the camp bed and the cloak after his association with diognetus he most likely would have also adopted the cynic approach to simple coarse food few possessions and neglect of basic hygiene although it is unclear it seems that his mother forced him to stop his philosophical Pursuits and focus on what she saw as a more respectable career path sometime after this he received new tutors in oratory and rhetoric and among these were herodes atus 1o1 177 CE and Marcus Cornelius fronto whose reputations for excellence in their Arts were highly respected and commanded a high price fronto and Aurelius would become lifelong friends and both he and attacus would exert significant influence over the young aelius he was shortly after betrothed to seonia Fabia daughter of the respected politician Lucius seus Commodus and sister of aurelius's future co-emperor Lucius Veris 1611 169 CE in 136 CE the emperor hadrien 117 138 CE selected Lucius cius Commodus as his successor for unclear reasons Commodus was married to Marcus aurelius's Aunt FAA and hadrien probably chose Commodus as a kind of placeholder for the teenage aelius who would then succeed him later Commodus died in 138 CE however and hadrien then chose aelius antoninus later known as ananus Pius 138 161 CE as successor with one stipulation he had to adopt Marcus and lucus verus as his sons and successors antoninus agreed and young Marcus took the name Marcus aelius antoninus and was groomed as the next Emperor antoninus pasus was an extremely effective monar and an important role model for his successor Aurelius devotes a long passage of praise to his adopted father in his meditations in which he lists the emperor's impressive qualities antoninus had aurelius's betrothal to seonia Fabia annuled and arranged a marriage between him and antonin's daughter Anna Galeria FAA known as FAA Miner or FAA the younger 130 175 CE antoninus groomed his success in almost every aspect of becoming an efficient ruler though he neglected to instruct him in military matters and although Aurelius complied his tastes ran more toward philosophical introspection than the mundane duties of Court life he lived where antoninus instructed him to further his reputation as one of the elite and also for practical purposes in fulfilling his responsibilities but it seems clear he would have preferred a simpler life elsewhere at about this time he was was introduced to two new teachers who were brought to court by antoninus to tutor aelius in philosophy these were apollonius of caldon and quintus Junius rusticus 100 170 CE one of the greatest stoic philosophers of his day in his meditations Aurelius Praises both men highly and lists the many important lessons he learned from them epicus 50130 CE was the author of The discourses and enidan famous lectures on stoic principles and practice and the logos was The Binding force in the universe which caused all things to be and kept all running harmoniously if one concentrated one's focus on the logos the stoics claimed one could live peacefully because one would realize that everything which happens is natural it is only one's interpretation of an event which makes it good or bad although fronto strongly objects to aurelius's interest in stoicism in his letters his former student embraced the philosophy fully and would put the principles he learned from his teachers into effect once he came to power in March of 161c antoninus peus died and the Senate ooked to Aurelius as the new emperor in keeping with Hadrian's origonal designs however Aurelius refused the honor unless lus verus was elevated as co-emperor with him his request was granted and Aurelius and Varys began their reign by instituting programs to help the poor and rewarding the military with more pay and greater honor they encouraged Free Speech the Arts and education and boosted the economy at least for a Time by debasing the currency the two Emperors quickly became immensely popular with the people aelius continued to hold fast to his stoic principles as Emperor but Varys who had always been more extravagant indulged himself through lavish parties and expensive gifts to friends the Historia Augusta records one such especially notorious party at which Varys gave out Gold Silver and gemmed bowls golden vases in the shape of perfume boxes carriages with silver harnesses as well as many more luxuriant gifts and the entry concludes the cost of this dinner party has been estimated as 6 million certi around 60 million when Marcus heard about this party he is said to have groaned and wept for the fate of the world in late 161 CE the parean king vasis Thor 147 to11 CE invaded Armenia which was under Rome's protection and the Roman province of Syria revolted Varys had more military experience than aelius and so took charge of the campaigns in the East personally it is also thought that Aurelius may have manipulated Varys into going to curtail his extravagant parties the Patheon Wars would last until 166 CE and concluded with a Roman Victory this success was due not so much to Varys but to the general gas avidius casus 130 175 CE who brilliantly deployed the troops and devised the tactics while Varys was away on campaign aelius remained at Rome and by all accounts performed his duties with distinction he adjudicated court cases reviewed and passed laws which benefited all the classes of Rome and dealt with the various request quests and difficulties that came in from the provinces it is also during this time that he is alleged to have persecuted the new sect of Christianity which refused to honor the state religion and disrupted the social order although it is clear that Christians were persecuted during orus Reign modern-day Scholars increasingly claimed that he did not decree them antoninus Pius had issued edicts protecting the Christians and so it seems did aelius the persecution of Christians seems to have been orchest ated by Regional Governors as suggested by the apology for Christianity by meito of Sardis 180 CE which he sent to Aurelius asking him to intervene it is possible aelius never received the work or at least there is no record of a response and Regional persecutions continued through at least 180 CE