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97-486: According to the local tourist information officer, this is the site referred to in what may be the first written mention of present-day Slovak territory. This version of events states that in 172 AD Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius had fought a victorious battle in Hronský Beňadik when it started 'raining fire'. The panic this created in his forces led some of the closet Christians among them to start praying, after which

194-452: A 'favour', not to attack Atticus; he had already asked Atticus to refrain from making the first blows. Fronto replied that he was surprised to discover Marcus counted Atticus as a friend (perhaps Atticus was not yet Marcus's tutor), and allowed that Marcus might be correct, but nonetheless affirmed his intent to win the case by any means necessary: '[T]he charges are frightful and must be spoken of as frightful. Those in particular that refer to

291-516: A Caesar; do not be dipped into the purple dye – for that can happen'. At the senate's request, Marcus joined all the priestly colleges ( pontifices , augures , quindecimviri sacris faciundis , septemviri epulonum , etc.); direct evidence for membership, however, is available only for the Arval Brethren . Antoninus demanded that Marcus reside in the House of Tiberius, the imperial palace on

388-432: A hope of recovery. The diarrhea has stopped, the little attacks of fever have been driven away. But the emaciation is still extreme and there is still quite a bit of coughing'. He and Faustina, Marcus wrote, had been 'pretty occupied' with the girl's care. Domitia would die in 151. In 149, Faustina gave birth again, to twin sons. Contemporary coinage commemorates the event, with crossed cornucopiae beneath portrait busts of

485-468: A large tract around the third mile of the Appian Way outside Rome , which was known as the "Triopio" (from Triopas , King of Thessaly ). For his remaining years he travelled between Greece and Italy. Some time after his consulship, he returned to Greece permanently with his wife and their children. In 160, the year that her brother was consul, Regilla, while eight months pregnant, was brutally kicked in

582-527: A lieutenant obeys a proconsul or a governor obeys the emperor". Immediately after their Senate confirmation, the emperors proceeded to the Castra Praetoria , the camp of the Praetorian Guard . Lucius addressed the assembled troops, which then acclaimed the pair as imperatores . Then, like every new emperor since Claudius , Lucius promised the troops a special donativum . This donative , however,

679-508: A markedly different personality from Marcus: he enjoyed sports of all kinds, but especially hunting and wrestling; he took obvious pleasure in the circus games and gladiatorial fights. He did not marry until 164. In 156, Antoninus turned 70. He found it difficult to keep himself upright without stays . He started nibbling on dry bread to give him the strength to stay awake through his morning receptions. As Antoninus aged, Marcus would take on more administrative duties, more still when he became

776-744: A painting master, proved particularly influential; he seems to have introduced Marcus Aurelius to the philosophic way of life. In April 132, at the behest of Diognetus, Marcus took up the dress and habits of the philosopher: he studied while wearing a rough Greek cloak , and would sleep on the ground until his mother persuaded him to sleep on a bed. A new set of tutors – the Homeric scholar Alexander of Cotiaeum along with Trosius Aper and Tuticius Proculus , teachers of Latin – took over Marcus's education in about 132 or 133. Marcus thanks Alexander for his training in literary styling. Alexander's influence – an emphasis on matter over style and careful wording, with

873-509: A palace beside the Lateran , where he would spend much of his childhood. Marcus thanks his grandfather for teaching him 'good character and avoidance of bad temper'. He was less fond of the mistress his grandfather took and lived with after the death of his wife Rupilia. Marcus was grateful that he did not have to live with her longer than he did. From a young age, Marcus displayed enthusiasm for wrestling and boxing . He trained in wrestling as

970-548: A palace' – but he found it difficult nonetheless. He would criticize himself in the Meditations for 'abusing court life' in front of company. As quaestor, Marcus would have had little real administrative work to do. He would read imperial letters to the senate when Antoninus was absent and would do secretarial work for the senators. But he felt drowned in paperwork and complained to his tutor, Marcus Cornelius Fronto: 'I am so out of breath from dictating nearly thirty letters'. He

1067-557: A public paroxysm of despair at the death of his perhaps eromenos Polydeukes, commissioned games, inscriptions and sculptures on a lavish scale and then died, inconsolable, shortly afterwards." He also taught many orators and philosophers such as Aristocles of Pergamon . Herodes Atticus had a distinguished reputation for his literary work, most of which is now lost, and was a philanthropist and patron of public works. He funded more building projects in Roman Greece than anyone aside from

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1164-496: A seaside resort on the Campanian coast. His condition did not improve, and he abandoned the diet prescribed by his doctors, indulging himself in food and drink. He sent for Antoninus, who was at his side when he died on 10 July 138. His remains were buried quietly at Puteoli . The succession to Antoninus was peaceful and stable: Antoninus kept Hadrian's nominees in office and appeased the senate, respecting its privileges and commuting

1261-462: A series of mythic Greek kings: Theseus , Cecrops , and Aeacus , as well as the god Zeus . His father's family, known as the Claudii of Marathon , rose to prominence in the late first century BC, when his great-great-great grandfather Herodes and his great-great grandfather Eucles forged links with Julius Caesar and Augustus . The family received Roman citizenship from Emperor Claudius , receiving

1358-609: A troubling reality for the Empire. He reduced the silver purity of the Roman currency , the denarius . The persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire appears to have increased during his reign, but his involvement in this is unlikely since there is no record of early Christians in the 2nd century calling him a persecutor, and Tertullian even called Marcus a "protector of Christians". The Antonine Plague broke out in 165 or 166 and devastated

1455-486: A youth and into his teenage years, learned to fight in armour and joined the Salii , an order of priests dedicated to the god Mars that were responsible for the sacred shields, called Ancilia , and possibly for heralding war season's beginning and end. Marcus was educated at home, in line with contemporary aristocratic trends; he thanks Catilius Severus for encouraging him to avoid public schools. One of his teachers, Diognetus,

1552-484: Is best known for a very important Benedictine abbey, which played in important role in the Christianization process and in the development of culture and education. It was founded in 1075 by King Géza I under the name "Monasterium Ecclesia Sancti Benedicti". The Nitra Gospels , the oldest Latin book (i.e. not just text) from the territory of Slovakia, were written here around 1100. The abbey ceased operations during

1649-455: Is concerned, I am beginning to get it back; and there is no trace of the pain in my chest. But that ulcer [...] I am having treatment and taking care not to do anything that interferes with it'. Never particularly healthy or strong, Marcus was praised by Cassius Dio, writing of his later years, for behaving dutifully in spite of his various illnesses. In April 145, Marcus married Faustina, legally his sister, as had been planned since 138. Little

1746-472: Is it between you and me? I love you and you are not here' in their correspondence. Marcus spent time with Fronto's wife and daughter, both named Cratia, and they enjoyed light conversation. He wrote Fronto a letter on his birthday, claiming to love him as he loved himself, and calling on the gods to ensure that every word he learnt of literature, he would learn 'from the lips of Fronto'. His prayers for Fronto's health were more than conventional, because Fronto

1843-651: Is specifically known of the ceremony, but the biographer calls it 'noteworthy'. Coins were issued with the heads of the couple, and Antoninus, as Pontifex Maximus , would have officiated. Marcus makes no apparent reference to the marriage in his surviving letters, and only sparing references to Faustina. After taking the toga virilis in 136, Marcus probably began his training in oratory . He had three tutors in Greek (Aninus Macer, Caninius Celer, and Herodes Atticus ) and one in Latin ( Marcus Cornelius Fronto ). The latter two were

1940-485: The Iliad what he called the "briefest and most familiar saying [...] enough to dispel sorrow and fear": leaves, the wind scatters some on the face of the ground; like unto them are the children of men. Another daughter was born on 7 March 150, Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla . At some time between 155 and 161, probably soon after 155, Marcus's mother Domitia Lucilla died. Faustina probably had another daughter in 151, but

2037-437: The cursus honorum of civil posts, he demonstrated a talent for civil engineering, especially the design and construction of water-supply systems. The Nymphaeum at Olympia was one of his dearest projects. However, he never lost sight of philosophy and rhetoric, becoming a teacher himself. One of his students was the young Marcus Aurelius, last of the "Five Good Emperors" . M.I. Finley describes Herodes Atticus as "patron of

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2134-548: The Antonine Period , and taught rhetoric to the Roman emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus , and was advanced to the consulship in 143. His full name as a Roman citizen was Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes . According to Philostratus , Herodes Atticus, in possession of the best education that money could buy, was a notable proponent of the Second Sophistic . Having gone through

2231-494: The Roman currency . He decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 83.5% to 79% – the silver weight dropping from 2.68 g (0.095 oz) to 2.57 g (0.091 oz). Antoninus's funeral ceremonies were, in the words of the biographer, 'elaborate'. If his funeral followed those of his predecessors, his body would have been cremated on a pyre at the Campus Martius , and his spirit would have been seen as ascending to

2328-569: The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina . It survives as the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. In accordance with his will, Antoninus's fortune passed on to Faustina. (Marcus had little need of his wife's fortune. Indeed, at his accession, Marcus transferred part of his mother's estate to his nephew, Ummius Quadratus . ) Faustina was three months pregnant at her husband's accession. During the pregnancy she dreamed of giving birth to two serpents, one fiercer than

2425-550: The population of the Roman Empire , causing the deaths of five to ten million people. Lucius Verus may have died from the plague in 169. When Marcus himself died in 180, he was succeeded by his son Commodus . Commodus's succession after Marcus has been a subject of debate among both contemporary and modern historians. The Column of Marcus Aurelius and Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius still stand in Rome, where they were erected in celebration of his military victories. Meditations ,

2522-506: The praetorian prefect (an office that was as much secretarial as military) when Marcus Gavius Maximus died in 156 or 157. In 160, Marcus and Lucius were designated joint consuls for the following year. Antoninus may have already been ill. Two days before his death, the biographer reports, Antoninus was at his ancestral estate at Lorium , in Etruria , about 19 kilometres (12 mi) from Rome. He ate Alpine cheese at dinner quite greedily. In

2619-479: The tribunician power and the imperium – authority over the armies and provinces of the emperor. As tribune, he had the right to bring one measure before the senate after the four Antoninus could introduce. His tribunician powers would be renewed with Antoninus's on 10 December 147. The first mention of Domitia in Marcus's letters reveals her as a sickly infant. 'Caesar to Fronto. If the gods are willing we seem to have

2716-602: The 16th century in the course of the Ottoman expansion in present-day Hungary. The church of the monastery contains valuable works of art (a wood-carving of the Holy Sepulchre, a wall-painting presenting the legend of St. George, an altar depicting the Passion, a sculpture of Jesus Christ from the 13th century, a Madonna sculpture from the 14th century, etc.). The abbey was declared a National Cultural Monument in 1945. The village below

2813-816: The Antonine elite, the orations of Aelius Aristides on the temper of the times, and the constitutions preserved in the Digest and Codex Justinianeus on Marcus's legal work. Inscriptions and coin finds supplement the literary sources. Marcus was born in Rome on 26 April 121. His birth name is sometimes given as Marcus Annius Verus, but sources assign this name to him upon his father's death and unofficial adoption by his grandfather, upon his coming of age. He may have been known as "Marcus Annius Catilius Severus", at birth or some point in his youth, or "Marcus Catilius Severus Annius Verus". Upon his adoption by Antoninus as heir to

2910-589: The Aurelii Fulvi, a branch of the Aurelii settled in the colony of Nemausus in Roman Gaul . Marcus's sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina , was probably born in 122 or 123. His father probably died in 125 or 126 when Marcus was three years old during his praetorship. Though he can hardly have known his father, Marcus wrote in his Meditations that he had learned 'modesty and manliness' from his memories of his father and

3007-461: The Palatine, and take up the habits of his new station, the aulicum fastigium or 'pomp of the court', against Marcus's objections. Marcus would struggle to reconcile the life of the court with his philosophic yearnings. He told himself it was an attainable goal – 'Where life is possible, then it is possible to live the right life; life is possible in a palace, so it is possible to live the right life in

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3104-587: The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, which he had commissioned. Regilla bore Herodes Atticus six children, of whom three survived to adulthood. They were: After Regilla died in 160, Herodes Atticus never married again. Sometime after his wife's death, he adopted his cousin's first grandson Lucius Vibullius Claudius Herodes as his son. When Herodes Atticus died in 177, his son Atticus Bradua and his grandchild survived him. Herodes Atticus and his wife Regilla, from

3201-572: The Roman nomen Claudius. They were exceptionally wealthy. Herodes' father, Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes entered the Roman Senate and became Roman consul , the first Athenian to do so. His mother was the wealthy heiress Vibullia Alcia Agrippina. He had a brother named Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodianus and a sister named Claudia Tisamenis . His maternal grandparents were Claudia Alcia and Lucius Vibullius Rufus, while his paternal grandfather

3298-521: The Roman emperors, including: He also contemplated cutting a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth , but was deterred from carrying out the plan because the same thing had been unsuccessfully attempted before by the emperor Nero . Throughout his life, Herodes Atticus had a stormy relationship with the citizens of Athens, but before he died he was reconciled with them. When he died, the citizens of Athens gave him an honored burial, his funeral taking place in

3395-411: The Roman granaries. Herodes Atticus Herodes Atticus ( Ancient Greek : Ἡρώδης ; AD 101–177) was an Athenian rhetorician , as well as a Roman senator . A great philanthropic magnate, he and his wife Appia Annia Regilla , for whose murder he was potentially responsible, commissioned many Athenian public works, several of which stand to the present day. He was one of the best-known figures of

3492-562: The Slovak pop duo TWiiNS were born on 15 May 1986 in Hronský Beňadik. Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( Latin: [ˈmaːrkʊs au̯ˈreːliʊs antoːˈniːnʊs] ; English: / ɔː ˈ r iː l i ə s / or- EE -lee-əs ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty ,

3589-505: The abbey arose in the 14th century and received a city charter (town privileges) in 1347, but was destroyed by the Turks (Ottomans) in 1599 and later re-built. According to the 2001 census , the village had 1,220 inhabitants. 98.44% of inhabitants were Slovaks , 0.41% Roma , 0.33% Hungarians and 0.25% Czechs . The religious make-up was 91.89% Roman Catholics , 3.28% people with no religious affiliation and 0.90% Lutherans . Both members of

3686-485: The abdomen by a freedman of Herodes Atticus named Alcimedon. This caused her to go into premature labor, killing her. Consul Appius Annius Atilius Bradua brought charges against his brother-in-law in Rome , alleging that Herodes Atticus had ordered her beaten to death; the emperor Marcus Aurelius exonerated his old tutor of his wife's murder. Herodes Atticus was the teacher of three notable students: Achilles, Memnon and Polydeuces (Polydeukes). "The aged Herodes Atticus in

3783-549: The arts and letters (and himself a writer and scholar of importance), public benefactor on an imperial scale, not only in Athens but elsewhere in Greece and Asia Minor, holder of many important posts, friend and kinsman of emperors." Herodes Atticus was a Greek of Athenian descent. His ancestry could be traced to the Athenian noblewoman Elpinice , a half-sister of the statesman Cimon and daughter of Miltiades . He claimed lineage from

3880-409: The beating and robbing I will describe so that they savour of gall and bile. If I happen to call him an uneducated little Greek it will not mean war to the death'. The outcome of the trial is unknown. By the age of twenty-five (between April 146 and April 147), Marcus had grown disaffected with his studies in jurisprudence , and showed some signs of general malaise . His master, he writes to Fronto,

3977-456: The best teachers from both Greek and Roman culture. Throughout his life, however, Herodes Atticus remained entirely Greek in his cultural outlook. He was a student of Favorinus and inherited Favorinus' library. Like Favorinus, he was a harsh critic of Stoicism . these disciplines of the cult of the unemotional, who want to be considered calm, brave, and steadfast because they show neither desire nor grief, neither anger nor pleasure, cut out

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4074-429: The biographer writes that he was 'compelled' to take imperial power. This may have been a genuine horror imperii , 'fear of imperial power'. Marcus, with his preference for the philosophic life, found the imperial office unappealing. His training as a Stoic however, had made the choice clear to him that it was his duty. Although Marcus showed no personal affection for Hadrian (significantly, he does not thank him in

4171-578: The biographies contained in the Historia Augusta , claimed to be written by a group of authors at the turn of the 4th century AD, but it is believed they were in fact written by a single author (referred to here as 'the biographer') from about 395. The later biographies and the biographies of subordinate emperors and usurpers are unreliable, but the earlier biographies, derived primarily from now-lost earlier sources ( Marius Maximus or Ignotus), are considered to be more accurate. For Marcus's life and rule,

4268-493: The biographies of Hadrian , Antoninus , Marcus, and Lucius are largely reliable, but those of Aelius Verus and Avidius Cassius are not. A body of correspondence between Marcus's tutor Fronto and various Antonine officials survives in a series of patchy manuscripts, covering the period from c. 138 to 166. Marcus's own Meditations offer a window on his inner life, but are largely undateable and make few specific references to worldly affairs. The main narrative source for

4365-474: The child, Annia Galeria Aurelia Faustina , might not have been born until 153. Another son, Tiberius Aelius Antoninus, was born in 152. A coin issue celebrates fecunditati Augustae , 'to Augusta's fertility', depicting two girls and an infant. The boy did not survive long, as evidenced by coins from 156, only depicting the two girls. He might have died in 152, the same year as Marcus's sister Cornificia. By 28 March 158, when Marcus replied, another of his children

4462-449: The consul for 139. Marcus's adoption diverted him from the typical career path of his class. If not for his adoption, he probably would have become triumvir monetalis , a highly regarded post involving token administration of the state mint; after that, he could have served as tribune with a legion , becoming the legion's nominal second-in-command. Marcus probably would have opted for travel and further education instead. As it was, Marcus

4559-571: The death sentences of men charged in Hadrian's last days. For his dutiful behaviour, Antoninus was asked to accept the name 'Pius'. Immediately after Hadrian's death, Antoninus approached Marcus and requested that his marriage arrangements be amended: Marcus's betrothal to Ceionia Fabia would be annulled, and he would be betrothed to Faustina , Antoninus's daughter, instead. Faustina's betrothal to Ceionia's brother Lucius Commodus would also have to be annulled. Marcus consented to Antoninus's proposal. He

4656-510: The deluge abated and Marcus Aurelius cut short his campaign. The incident was later recorded in the emperor's own memoirs. It is situated in the Hron valley between the mountains Pohronský Inovec and Štiavnické vrchy , located around 40 km east of Nitra and 120 km north-east of Bratislava . The territory of the village has been settled since the Neolithic and Hallstatt period , but it

4753-500: The end of the felicitas temporum ('happy times') that the coinage of 161 had proclaimed. In either autumn 161 or spring 162, the Tiber overflowed its banks, flooding much of Rome. It drowned many animals, leaving the city in famine. Marcus and Lucius gave the crisis their personal attention. In other times of famine, the emperors are said to have provided for the Italian communities out of

4850-438: The fact that the comedy writer Marullus was able to criticize them without suffering retribution. As the biographer wrote, "No one missed the lenient ways of Pius". Marcus replaced a number of the empire's major officials. The ab epistulis Sextus Caecilius Crescens Volusianus, in charge of the imperial correspondence, was replaced with Titus Varius Clemens. Clemens was from the frontier province of Pannonia and had served in

4947-436: The fashion of the young, tired of boring work', Marcus had turned to philosophy to escape the constant exercises of oratorical training. Marcus kept in close touch with Fronto, but would ignore Fronto's scruples. Apollonius may have introduced Marcus to Stoic philosophy, but Quintus Junius Rusticus would have the strongest influence on the boy. He was the man Fronto recognized as having 'wooed Marcus away' from oratory. He

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5044-614: The first book of his Meditations ), he presumably believed it his duty to enact the man's succession plans. Thus, although the Senate planned to confirm Marcus alone, he refused to take office unless Lucius received equal powers. The Senate accepted, granting Lucius the imperium , the tribunician power, and the title Augustus . Marcus became, in official titulature, Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus; Lucius, forgoing his name Commodus and taking Marcus's family name Verus, became Imperator Caesar Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus. It

5141-464: The future Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus . Sometime after, he was betrothed to Appia Annia Regilla , a wealthy aristocrat, who was related to the wife of Antoninus Pius, Faustina the Elder . When Regilla and Herodes Atticus married, she was 14 years old and he was 40. As a mark of his friendship, Antoninus Pius appointed Herodes Atticus consul in 143. Herodes Atticus and Regilla controlled

5238-553: The gods' home in the heavens. Marcus and Lucius nominated their father for deification. In contrast to their behaviour during Antoninus's campaign to deify Hadrian, the Senate did not oppose the emperors' wishes. A flamen , or cultic priest, was appointed to minister the cult of the deified Divus Antoninus. Antoninus's remains were laid to rest in Hadrian's mausoleum , beside the remains of Marcus's children and of Hadrian himself. The temple he had dedicated to his wife, Diva Faustina, became

5335-436: The influence of Atticus, Marcus would later become a Stoic. He would not mention Herodes at all in his Meditations , in spite of the fact that they would come into contact many times over the following decades. Fronto was highly esteemed: in the self-consciously antiquarian world of Latin letters, he was thought of as second only to Cicero , perhaps even an alternative to him. He did not care much for Atticus, though Marcus

5432-601: The last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana , an age of relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161. Marcus Aurelius was the son of the praetor Marcus Annius Verus and his wife, Domitia Calvilla . He was related through marriage to the emperors Trajan and Hadrian . Marcus

5529-420: The longest reign since Augustus, surpassing Tiberius by a couple of months. After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus was effectively sole ruler of the Empire. The formalities of the position would follow. The Senate would soon grant him the name Augustus and the title imperator , and he would soon be formally elected as pontifex maximus , chief priest of the official cults. Marcus made some show of resistance:

5626-406: The man's posthumous reputation. His mother Lucilla did not remarry and, following prevailing aristocratic customs, probably did not spend much time with her son. Instead, Marcus was in the care of 'nurses', and was raised after his father's death by his grandfather Marcus Annius Verus (II), who had always retained the legal authority of patria potestas over his son and grandson. Technically this

5723-523: The more active emotions of the spirit and grow old in a torpor, a sluggish, enervated life. In 125, Emperor Hadrian appointed him prefect of the free cities in the Roman province of Asia . He later returned to Athens, where he became famous as a teacher. In the year 140, Herodes Atticus was elected and served as an Archon of Athens. Later that same year, the Emperor Antoninus Pius invited him to Rome from Athens to educate his two adopted sons,

5820-464: The most esteemed orators of their time, but probably did not become his tutors until his adoption by Antoninus in 138. The preponderance of Greek tutors indicates the importance of the Greek language to the aristocracy of Rome. This was the age of the Second Sophistic , a renaissance in Greek letters. Although educated in Rome, in his Meditations Marcus would write his inmost thoughts in Greek. Atticus

5917-477: The night before the scheduled speech, he grew ill and died of a hemorrhage later in the day. On 24 January 138, Hadrian selected Aurelius Antoninus, the husband of Marcus's aunt Faustina the Elder , as his new successor. As part of Hadrian's terms, Antoninus, in turn, adopted Marcus and Lucius Commodus, the son of Lucius Aelius. Marcus became M. Aelius Aurelius Verus, and Lucius became L. Aelius Aurelius Commodus. At Hadrian's request, Antoninus's daughter Faustina

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6014-409: The night he vomited; he had a fever the next day. The day after that, 7 March 161, he summoned the imperial council, and passed the state and his daughter to Marcus. The emperor gave the keynote to his life in the last word that he uttered when the tribune of the night-watch came to ask the password – 'aequanimitas' (equanimity). He then turned over, as if going to sleep, and died. His death closed out

6111-413: The occasional Homeric quotation – has been detected in Marcus's Meditations . In late 136, Hadrian almost died from a hemorrhage . Convalescent in his villa at Tivoli , he selected Lucius Ceionius Commodus, Marcus's intended father-in-law, as his successor and adopted son , according to the biographer 'against the wishes of everyone'. While his motives are not certain, it would appear that his goal

6208-421: The other. On 31 August, she gave birth at Lanuvium to twins: T. Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. Aside from the fact that the twins shared Caligula 's birthday, the omens were favorable, and the astrologers drew positive horoscopes for the children. The births were celebrated on the imperial coinage. Soon after the emperor's accession, Marcus's eleven-year-old daughter, Annia Lucilla,

6305-639: The outskirts of Rome – a profitable enterprise in an era when the city was experiencing a construction boom – and the Horti Domitia Calvillae (or Lucillae ), a villa on the Caelian hill of Rome. Marcus himself was born and raised in the Horti and referred to the Caelian hill as 'My Caelian'. The adoptive family of Marcus was the gens Aurelia , an old Roman gens. His adoptive father Antoninus Pius came from

6402-402: The period is Cassius Dio , a Greek senator from Bithynian Nicaea who wrote a history of Rome from its founding to 229 in eighty books. Dio is vital for the military history of the period, but his senatorial prejudices and strong opposition to imperial expansion obscure his perspective. Some other literary sources provide specific details: the writings of the physician Galen on the habits of

6499-497: The philosopher to learn what I do not yet know.' And Lucius, raising his hand to heaven, said, ' O Zeus, the king of the Romans in his old age takes up his tablets and goes to school.' On 30 November 147, Faustina gave birth to a girl named Domitia Faustina. She was the first of at least thirteen children (including two sets of twins) that Faustina would bear over the next twenty-three years. The next day, 1 December, Antoninus gave Marcus

6596-557: The small colony of Ucubi (Colonia Claritas Iulia Ucubi) south-east of Córdoba in Iberian Baetica (modern Andalusia , Spain); the gens had legendary claims of descendance from Numa Pompilius . The Annii Veri rose to prominence in Rome in the late 1st century AD. Marcus's great-grandfather Marcus Annius Verus (I) was a senator and (according to the Historia Augusta ) ex- praetor ; his grandfather Marcus Annius Verus (II)

6693-434: The speech he had written on taking his consulship in 143, when he had praised the young Marcus, Fronto was ebullient: "There was then an outstanding natural ability in you; there is now perfected excellence. There was then a crop of growing corn; there is now a ripe, gathered harvest. What I was hoping for then, I have now. The hope has become a reality". Fronto called on Marcus alone; neither thought to invite Lucius. Lucius

6790-677: The throne alongside his adoptive brother, who took the regnal name Lucius Aurelius Verus. Under the reign of Marcus Aurelius , the Roman Empire witnessed much military conflict. In the East, the Romans fought the Parthian war of Lucius Verus with a revitalized Parthian Empire and the rebel Kingdom of Armenia . Marcus defeated the Marcomanni , Quadi , and Sarmatian Iazyges in the Marcomannic Wars . These and other Germanic peoples began to represent

6887-434: The throne, he was known as "Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus Caesar" and, upon his ascension, he was "Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus" until his death; Epiphanius of Salamis , in his chronology of the Roman emperors included in his On Weights and Measures , calls him Marcus Aurelius Verus . The father of Marcus Aurelius was Marcus Annius Verus (III) . His gens Annia was of Italic origin, but settled at some point in

6984-628: The two small boys, and the legend temporum felicitas , 'the happiness of the times'. They did not survive long. Before the end of the year, another family coin was issued: it shows only a tiny girl, Domitia Faustina, and one boy baby. Then another: the girl alone. The infants were buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian , where their epitaphs survive. They were called Titus Aurelius Antoninus and Tiberius Aelius Aurelius. Marcus steadied himself: 'One man prays: 'How I may not lose my little child', but you must pray: 'How I may not be afraid to lose him'. He quoted from

7081-483: The war in Mauretania . Recently, he had served as procurator of five provinces. He was a man suited for a time of military crisis. Lucius Volusius Maecianus, Marcus's former tutor, had been prefectural governor of Egypt at Marcus's accession. Maecianus was recalled, made senator, and appointed prefect of the treasury ( aerarium Saturni ). He was made consul soon after. Fronto's son-in-law, Gaius Aufidius Victorinus ,

7178-422: The writings of "the philosopher" – as contemporary biographers called Marcus – are a significant source of the modern understanding of ancient Stoic philosophy. These writings have been praised by fellow writers, philosophers, monarchs, and politicians centuries after his death. The major sources depicting the life and rule of Marcus Aurelius are patchy and frequently unreliable. The most important group of sources,

7275-582: Was Hipparchus . His parents were related as uncle and niece. His maternal grandmother and his father were sister and brother. His maternal uncle Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus was an Archon of Athens in the years 99–100 and his maternal cousin, Publius Aelius Vibullius Rufus , was an Archon of Athens between 143–144. Herodes Atticus was born in Marathon, Greece , and spent his childhood years between Greece and Italy. According to Juvenal he received an education in rhetoric and philosophy from many of

7372-536: Was an old man, in the latter part of his reign, he studied under Sextus of Chaeronea : The Emperor Marcus was an eager disciple of Sextus the Boeotian philosopher, being often in his company and frequenting his house. Lucius, who had just come to Rome, asked the Emperor, whom he met on his way, where he was going to and on what errand, and Marcus answered, ' it is good even for an old man to learn; I am now on my way to Sextus

7469-545: Was an unpleasant blowhard, and had made 'a hit at' him: 'It is easy to sit yawning next to a judge, he says, but to be a judge is noble work'. Marcus had grown tired of his exercises, of taking positions in imaginary debates. When he criticized the insincerity of conventional language, Fronto took to defend it. In any case, Marcus's formal education was now over. He had kept his teachers on good terms, following them devotedly. It 'affected his health adversely', his biographer writes, to have devoted so much effort to his studies. It

7566-476: Was appointed governor of Germania Superior . Fronto returned to his Roman townhouse at dawn on 28 March, having left his home in Cirta as soon as news of his pupils' accession reached him. He sent a note to the imperial freedman Charilas, asking if he could call on the emperors. Fronto would later explain that he had not dared to write the emperors directly. The tutor was immensely proud of his students. Reflecting on

7663-485: Was being 'fitted for ruling the state', in the words of his biographer. He was required to make a speech to the assembled senators as well, making oratorical training essential for the job. On 1 January 145, Marcus was made consul a second time. Fronto urged him in a letter to have plenty of sleep 'so that you may come into the Senate with a good colour and read your speech with a strong voice'. Marcus had complained of an illness in an earlier letter: 'As far as my strength

7760-411: Was betrothed to Lucius (in spite of the fact that he was, formally, her uncle). At the ceremonies commemorating the event, new provisions were made for the support of poor children, along the lines of earlier imperial foundations. Marcus and Lucius proved popular with the people of Rome, who strongly approved of their civiliter ("lacking pomp") behaviour. The emperors permitted free speech, evidenced by

7857-459: Was betrothed to Lucius. Marcus reportedly greeted the news that Hadrian had become his adoptive grandfather with sadness, instead of joy. Only with reluctance did he move from his mother's house on the Caelian to Hadrian's private home. At some time in 138, Hadrian requested in the Senate that Marcus be exempt from the law barring him from becoming quaestor before his twenty-fourth birthday. The Senate complied, and Marcus served under Antoninus,

7954-450: Was controversial: an enormously rich Athenian (probably the richest man in the eastern half of the empire), he was quick to anger and resented by his fellow Athenians for his patronizing manner. Atticus was an inveterate opponent of Stoicism and philosophic pretensions. He thought the Stoics' desire for apatheia was foolish: they would live a 'sluggish, enervated life', he said. In spite of

8051-449: Was dead. Marcus thanked the temple synod, 'even though this turned out otherwise'. The child's name is unknown. In 159 and 160, Faustina gave birth to daughters: Fadilla and Cornificia, named respectively after Faustina's and Marcus's dead sisters. Lucius started his political career as a quaestor in 153. He was consul in 154, and was consul again with Marcus in 161. Lucius had no other titles, except that of 'son of Augustus'. Lucius had

8148-452: Was eventually to put the pair on speaking terms. Fronto exercised a complete mastery of Latin, capable of tracing expressions through the literature, producing obscure synonyms , and challenging minor improprieties in word choice. A significant amount of the correspondence between Fronto and Marcus has survived. The pair were very close, using intimate language such as 'Farewell my Fronto, wherever you are, my most sweet love and delight. How

8245-482: Was frequently ill; at times, he seems to be an almost constant invalid, always suffering – about one-quarter of the surviving letters deal with the man's sicknesses. Marcus asks that Fronto's pain be inflicted on himself, 'of my own accord with every kind of discomfort'. Fronto never became Marcus's full-time teacher and continued his career as an advocate. One notorious case brought him into conflict with Atticus. Marcus pleaded with Fronto, first with 'advice', then as

8342-406: Was less esteemed by Fronto than his brother, as his interests were on a lower level. Lucius asked Fronto to adjudicate in a dispute he and his friend Calpurnius were having on the relative merits of two actors. Marcus told Fronto of his reading – Coelius and a little Cicero – and his family. His daughters were in Rome with their great-great-aunt Matidia; Marcus thought the evening air of the country

8439-426: Was made consul for 140 with Antoninus as his colleague, and was appointed as a sevir , one of the knights ' six commanders, at the order's annual parade on 15 July 139. As the heir apparent, Marcus became princeps iuventutis , head of the equestrian order. He now took the name Marcus Aelius Aurelius Verus Caesar. Marcus would later caution himself against taking the name too seriously: 'See that you do not turn into

8536-578: Was made patrician in 73–74. Through his grandmother Rupilia Faustina , Marcus was related to the Nerva-Antonine dynasty ; Rupilla was the step-daughter of Salonia Matidia , who was the niece of the emperor Trajan . Marcus's mother, Domitia Lucilla Minor (also known as Domitia Calvilla), was the daughter of the Roman patrician P. Calvisius Tullus and inherited a great fortune (described at length in one of Pliny 's letters) from her parents and grandparents. Her inheritance included large brickworks on

8633-461: Was not an adoption, the creation of a new and different patria potestas . Lucius Catilius Severus , described as Marcus's maternal great-grandfather, also participated in his upbringing; he was probably the elder Domitia Lucilla's stepfather. Marcus was raised in his parents' home on the Caelian Hill , an upscale area with few public buildings but many aristocratic villas. Marcus's grandfather owned

8730-589: Was older than Fronto and twenty years older than Marcus. As the grandson of Arulenus Rusticus , one of the martyrs to the tyranny of Domitian ( r . 81–96), he was heir to the tradition of ' Stoic Opposition ' to the 'bad emperors' of the 1st century; the true successor of Seneca (as opposed to Fronto, the false one). Marcus thanks Rusticus for teaching him 'not to be led astray into enthusiasm for rhetoric, for writing on speculative themes, for discoursing on moralizing texts.... To avoid oratory, poetry, and 'fine writing''. Philostratus describes how even when Marcus

8827-408: Was set apart from his fellow citizens. Nonetheless, his biographer attests that his character remained unaffected: 'He still showed the same respect to his relations as he had when he was an ordinary citizen, and he was as thrifty and careful of his possessions as he had been when he lived in a private household'. After a series of suicide attempts, all thwarted by Antoninus, Hadrian left for Baiae ,

8924-454: Was the first time that Rome was ruled by two emperors. In spite of their nominal equality, Marcus held more auctoritas , or 'authority', than Lucius. He had been consul once more than Lucius, he had shared in Antoninus's rule, and he alone was pontifex maximus . It would have been clear to the public which emperor was the more senior. As the biographer wrote: "Verus obeyed Marcus [...] as

9021-530: Was the only thing the biographer could find fault with in Marcus's entire boyhood. Fronto had warned Marcus against the study of philosophy early on: "It is better never to have touched the teaching of philosophy [...] than to have tasted it superficially, with the edge of the lips, as the saying is". He disdained philosophy and philosophers and looked down on Marcus's sessions with Apollonius of Chalcedon and others in this circle. Fronto put an uncharitable interpretation of Marcus's 'conversion to philosophy': 'In

9118-561: Was three when his father died, and was raised by his mother and paternal grandfather . After Hadrian's adoptive son, Aelius Caesar , died in 138, Hadrian adopted Marcus's uncle Antoninus Pius as his new heir. In turn, Antoninus adopted Marcus and Lucius , the son of Aelius. Hadrian died that year, and Antoninus became emperor. Now heir to the throne, Marcus studied Greek and Latin under tutors such as Herodes Atticus and Marcus Cornelius Fronto . He married Antoninus's daughter Faustina in 145. After Antoninus died in 161, Marcus acceded to

9215-466: Was to eventually place the then-too-young Marcus on the throne. As part of his adoption, Commodus took the name, Lucius Aelius Caesar. His health was so poor that, during a ceremony to mark his becoming heir to the throne, he was too weak to lift a large shield on his own. After a brief stationing on the Danube frontier, Aelius returned to Rome to make an address to the Senate on the first day of 138. However,

9312-494: Was too cold for them. He asked Fronto for 'some particularly eloquent reading matter, something of your own, or Cato, or Cicero, or Sallust or Gracchus – or some poet, for I need distraction, especially in this kind of way, by reading something that will uplift and diffuse my pressing anxieties.' Marcus's early reign proceeded smoothly; he was able to give himself wholly to philosophy and the pursuit of popular affection. Soon, however, he would find he had many anxieties. It would mean

9409-425: Was twice the size of those past: 20,000 sesterces (5,000 denarii ) per capita, with more to officers. In return for this bounty, equivalent to several years' pay, the troops swore an oath to protect the emperors. The ceremony was perhaps not entirely necessary, given that Marcus's accession had been peaceful and unopposed, but it was good insurance against later military troubles. Upon his accession he also devalued

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