Marcus Aurelius, Rome's Greastest Emperor

1168 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The stoics in ancient rome

Who is Marcus Aurelius? What did he do to make his mark in the pages of history? Why did the people of Rome respect and admire him? To the common person, Marcus was just a man who was an emperor of Rome and just another person who helped shaped this world. Marcus Aurelius was more than that! Anthony Birley writes, “The acquaintance of a man like Marcus Aurelius is an imperishable benefit.” The character of Marcus Aurelius is truly special, but was molded by many important people and figures in his life. With the absence of honor and duty in Rome, influences such as Junius Rusticus, a book called “The Discourses of Epictetus”, and the Roman Emperor Hadrian, led Marcus Aurelius to become one of the most important stoics and one of Rome’s greatest Emperors.

From the very beginning of his life, Marcus Aurelius Antonion Augustus was destine to become one of the worlds most remarkable men. Born into an advantageous environment—blood, education, status—Marcus had all the opportunities to succeed. Marcus’s family had been very involved with helping the empire. His grandfather M. Annius Verus, served as the presiding perfect or mayor three times, his father Annius Verus, was praetor of the city, and mother Domitia Lucilla, was a consul’s daughter and heiress to fortune and was also a scholar in both Greek and Latin literature. Coming from a family with high ideals, it is not odd to see how he was able to revive Rome’s vision of doing what one should consider right.

The first eight years from being adopted from Antoninus Pius, Marcus spent studying subjects such as Roman law, philosophy, and literature. Marcus was first introduce to subjects such as these from Cornelius Fronto, a leader during his time in the senate and a ...

... middle of paper ...

..., that is to the highest part of himself, the governing element, the deity within him. Marcus writes, “Man violates his soul when he turns away from any human being or is borne against him with intent to injure him. Love the human race.” Marcus understood that a good stoic could not be annoyed by others, but found it hard to deal with.

Works Cited

Anthony Birley, Marcus Aurelius, (Psychology Press, 2000), 9.

Brand Blanshard, Four Reasonable Men, Marcus Aurelius, John Stuart Mill, Ernest Renan, Henry Sidgwick, (Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1984), 5.

Arthur Spenser Loat Farquharson, Marcus Aurelius, His Life And His World, (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Pub Group, 1975), 53.

M.L Clarke, The Roman Mind: Studies In The History Of Thought From Cicero to Marcus Aurelius, (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1956), 33.

Show More
Related

  • The Res Gestae Divi Augustus: The Deeds Of The Divine Augustus

    1454 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Res Gestae Divi Augustus (‘The Deeds of the Divine Augustus’), also known simply as the Res Gestae was a catalogue of the achievements Augustus had made during his life, specifically those that had an obvious positive impact on the Roman people. It was written in 13-14AD (E.S. Ramage, 1987) and presented to the Vestal Virgins alongside Augustus’ will upon his death in 14AD (M.C. Howatson, 1937). The biography, which was carved into bronze pillars outside of Augustus’ mausoleum (M.C. Howatson, 1937), is split into 35 sections; each recognizing a separate part of Augustus’ excellence. The fifteenth, which will be discussed in this commentary, describes the notable largesses donated to the Roman people by Augustus throughout his

    Read More

  • Comparing the Roman Empire and the United States of America

    1290 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. Tim Cornell, John Matthews, Atlas of the Roman World, Facts On File Inc, 1982. (pg.216)

    Read More

  • Sulla and the Downfall of the Roman Republic

    1710 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lucius Cornelius Sulla was born in 138 B.C.E, into a prominent Roman patrician family but not a wealthy one. He received a good education, as Sallust, a reliable unbiased Roman plebeian historian and politician, suggests, “.and was fluent in both Roman and Greek” (Sallust, 43 AD. Histories), which was a sign of high education in Rome (Cavazzi, F. 2014). Sulla was a general and lieutenant of the Roman Army, was elected twice for consulship before he became dictator in 81 B.C.E.

    Read More

  • How Did Julius Caesar Affect Rome?

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Julius Caesar was a very influential figure in Roman history. Many features of the Roman Empire came from his reign as dictator. But what, specifically, were some of those great achievements? In this research paper, I will explain Julius Caesar’s youth, the Roman Republic before Caesar came to power, the Roman government before Caesar became dictator-for-life, the effects of Julius Caesar, the reasons for his assassination, and what affects there were when the public learned about his assassination.

    Read More

  • Livy’s The Rise of Rome

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    Livy’s The Rise of Rome serves as the ultimate catalogue of Roman history, elaborating on the accomplishments of each king and set of consuls through the ages of its vast empire. In the first five books, Livy lays the groundwork for the history of Rome and sets forth a model for all of Rome to follow. For him, the “special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behaviour set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded.” (Livy 4). Livy, however, denies the general populace the right to make the same sort of conclusions that he made in constructing his histories. His biased representation of Romulus and Tarquin Superbus, two icons of Roman history, give the readers a definite model of what a Roman should be, instead of allowing them to come to their own conclusion.

    Read More

  • The Rape of Lucretia

    1982 Words  | 4 Pages

    2)Cicero, Marcus Tullius., George William Featherstonhaugh, and Anthony Imbert. The Republic of Cicero,. New-York:: Published by G. & C. Carvill, 108 Broadway., 1829. Print.

    Read More

  • The Juxtaposition in the Hope of Roman Light

    2172 Words  | 5 Pages

    On that first fateful day, when Romulus struck down his own brother Remus, the cauldron of Rome was forged in blood and betrayal. The seeds on the Palatine hill cultured one of the most potent and stretching empires of human history. Though this civilization seemingly wielded the bolts of Zeus, they were infested with violence, vanity, and deception. Yet, one man—or seemingly “un”-man—outshone and out-graced his surroundings and everyone within it. He brought Rome several victories and rescued his beloved country from an early exodus, thus providing her a second beginning. This man was Marcus Furius Camillus, and against a logical and emotional mind, he was oft less than loved and celebrated. At times he was disregarded, insulted and even exiled—irrevocably an unwarranted method to reward Rome’s “Second Founder.” This contrast of character between hero and people was perhaps too drastic and too grand. The people were not yet ready to see Marcus Furius Camillus as a model of behavior to be emulated—to be reproduced. Hence, much of Livy’s Book 5 provides a foundation for the Roman people to imitate and assimilate a contrasting, honest, and strong behavior and temperament

    Read More

  • Biography On Julius Caesar

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Julius Caesar was a strong leader of the Romans who changed the course of the history for the Roman world decisively and irreversibly. With his courage and strength, he created a strong empire and guided the empire for almost 20 years. His life was short, but had many adventures. I will tell of some of this man’s remarkable life. He did many things, therefore, I will only discuss a few. His name, part of his reign, one of his greatest battles, and his death will be told.

    Read More

  • Revenge is Futile: Le’ Morte d’ Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    Aurelius, Marcus. The meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. New York: A.L. Burt, 189.

    Read More

  • The Battle of Actium

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dio, Cassius. "Roman History - Book 50." 17 June 2011. University of Chicago. 31 October 2011 .

    Read More

  • Cicero and Stoicism

    3690 Words  | 8 Pages

    philosophical temperament and affluence. Yet at times these two forces within Cicero clash and contradict with the early stoic teachings. Cicero gradually adopted the stoic lifestyle but not altogether entirely, and this is somewhat due to the fact of what it was like to be a roman of the time. The morals of everyday Rome conflicted with some of the stoic ideals that were set by early stoicism. Thus, Cicero changed the face of stoicism by romanizing it; redefining stoicism into the middle phase.

    Read More

  • The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marcus Aurelius was a stoic. In the book Archetypes of Wisdom, Soccio defines stoicism as a philosophy that, “counsel’s self-control, detachment, and acceptance of one’s fate as identified by the objective use of reason. Stoics believed that everything is about your attitude and that happiness comes only through the detachment from all external things. In book two of The Meditations Aurelius writes that nothing can injure him because no one can implicate him in what is degrading. This would be considered a stoic thought because Marcus is not letting external factors influence his happiness. Another example would be that when he speaks of his brother. His stepbrother Verus was very incompetent, but Aurelius could not turn his back on him, because it would go against Nature. Nature is the same thing as Logos. Logos is a force that governs the universe. It is also known as World Reason, Cosmic Mind, God, Zeus, Nature, Providence, Cosmic Meaning, and Fate. He mentions several of these throughout the document.

    Read More

  • The Stoic Tradition

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the approximate year of 320 B.C., one could be walking down the street with a high probability of passing a house where several men would be gathered out on the porch. It is likely that this was a gathering of individuals discussing philosophy. The gatherings became a more common occurrence, and since they would take place out on the porches, the school of philosophy derived from them takes its name from the Greek stoa, or porch. The ideology of that movement is henceforth known as Stoicism. Also, the Stoics have come to use the statement made by Socrates as the cornerstone of their judgments, being that "no harm can come to a good man." However, this concept is taken a bit further by the Stoics, as they deduce it to symbolize the eventually complete rejection of worldly things. These things they also deem "things which cannot be controlled."

    Read More

  • Comparison of Julius Caesar and Abraham Lincoln

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gaius Julius Caesar was born in Rome in July 100 BC. Rome was a Republic at this time. He was a statesman, Roman general, Consul, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a significant role in the events that led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and rise of the Roman Empire. He was a leader in a nation where the people were not involved in the government decision-making process. Thus, he had majority of the power in the Republic and was able to form a huge army. He was able to triumph, conquer new lands with the army at his grasp and command. As Caesar acquired more power over the years, som...

    Read More

  • Essay On Augustus Reign

    1550 Words  | 4 Pages

    The reign of Augustus brought a lot of changes in Rome’s political, economic and social set up. The latter was originally known by his birth name as Gaius Octavius and was born in 63 BC. After the death of his father, Gaius Octavius in 59 BC, he was enthusiastically adopted by Julius Caesar and later was to be known as Augustus. This name was given to him by the senate to indicate the transition that took place in him after his espousal. The murder of his imposter father gave him an opportunity to portray his advance skills in leadership. The murder of Julius Caesar led to a prolong civil war that resulted to a rebirth of Rome into Roman Empire.

    Read More

More about Marcus Aurelius, Rome's Greastest Emperor

Open Document