Marcus Aurelius
Ancient philosophyMarcus Aurelius (121–180 AD) was a Roman Stoic philosopher. During the last twenty years of his life, he served as emperor and wrote the Meditations during his military campaigns against the Parthians and the Quadi. His reign was marked by relentless barbarian pressure on the Empire, which he was constantly called upon to defend. His work draws on the central tenets of Stoic thought, including the vision of the world as a harmonious cosmos and the concept of freedom.
On this page dedicated to Marcus Aurelius, discover summaries of his works, a bibliography, videos, and a detailed biography.
The Works of Marcus Aurelius Summarised on This Site
Meditations
This masterpiece of Stoic philosophy sets out the precepts to be followed to achieve the freedom of the wise man, and beyond that, happiness
Bibliography
To discover this author's thought in greater depth, these books will be useful:
Hadot, Pierre. The inner citadel: the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998
McLynn, Frank. Marcus Aurelius: Warrior, Philosopher, Emperor. London: Bodley Head, 2009
Adams, Geoff W. Marcus Aurelius in the Historia Augusta and Beyond. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013
Bowman, John L. A Reference Guide to Stoicism. Bloomington: Author House, 2014
Holiday, Ryan; Hanselman, Stephen (2020). Lives of the Stoics. New York: Portfolio/Penguin
Recommended Videos
Conferences, symposia, radio broadcasts... here are 7 videos that will help you better understand Marcus Aurelius' thought.
To choose your video from the list, click below on the drop-down menu icon at the top right:
Biography: Life of Marcus Aurelius
Childhood
Marcus Aurelius was born in Rome in 121 AD into a noble family of Spanish origins. He was the nephew of the emperor Hadrian. After the death of his father, Hadrian entrusted him to his successor Antoninus, who adopted him and gave him an excellent education.
He was introduced to philosophy at an early age by his teacher Diognetus. Drawn to Stoicism, he adopted its way of life for a time — sleeping on the floor and wearing a rough tunic — until his mother persuaded him otherwise. Another of his tutors, Junius Rusticus, introduced him to the thought of Epictetus, who had died only a few years earlier.
His education and strong moral character caught the attention of Emperor Hadrian. According to Hippolyte Taine, he was the noblest soul who ever lived
.
The Rise to Power
At Hadrian's death in 138 AD, Marcus Aurelius was still too young to ascend the throne. Power passed to Antoninus.
Marcus Aurelius married Antoninus' daughter — his first cousin — who bore him fourteen children, most of whom died in infancy. He was then designated heir and came to the throne in 161 AD. He shared power with his adoptive brother: for the first time in Roman history, the Empire was ruled by two co-emperors.
He then embarked on a series of wars to defend the Empire, threatened on all sides — most notably by the Parthians in the east and the Germanic Quadi in the north. Of his twenty-year reign, only four years were free from conflict.
At home, he faced a succession of crises: a plague epidemic, the flooding of the Tiber, an earthquake at Cyzicus, and the rebellion of Avidius Cassius, governor of much of the eastern Empire.
Philosophy and Christianity
He began writing Meditations in 170 AD, continuing for ten years until his death. The work began as a series of personal reflections — a private journal, never intended for publication.
At the end of a day, sometimes after a battle, Marcus Aurelius would take a few moments apart, meditate, and set down whatever thoughts came to him. These fragments would eventually form the work we know.
He travelled to Athens in 175 AD and became a patron of philosophy, endowing philosophers and rhetoricians with fixed salaries. Committed to intellectual diversity, he gave his support to the Platonic Academy, Aristotle's Lyceum, Epicurus' Garden and the Stoic Porch alike.
Yet throughout his reign, persecutions of Christians were frequent. He regarded them as troublemakers who refused to acknowledge the Roman gods, and as dangerous fanatics.
Death and Posterity
He fell ill in 180 AD, at the age of fifty-eight, during one of his campaigns against the Germanic peoples on the Danube, at Vindobona.
Whether he succumbed to plague or was poisoned by his son Commodus — who succeeded him — remains unclear. Commodus proved to be one of the most disastrous emperors in Roman history, and was eventually assassinated.
Upon his death, Marcus Aurelius was deified by the Roman Senate.