Philosopher or Despot?

War raged on the Danube in the 170s CE. On one side were the Celtic tribes, who had launched a threatening invasion over the river and into Roman territory. On the other side were the fearsome Roman legions, an imposing force with their military discipline and ruthless training. At their head was one of the co-emperors, Marcus Aurelius, the man who brought them to the cusp of victory before his death. But when he wasn’t leading his troops, he had time to kill in Germany.

It’s at this time, when Marcus was leading his troops in the Marcomannic Wars in 166 180 CE that it’s thought he wrote Meditations, the work he has since become famous for. When people think of the emperor now, they don’t remember his time at war. They don’t recall his leadership of his nation through drought and plague. Everyone knows Marcus as the philosopher-king, the Stoic who became the last of the so-called Five Good Emperors before, in Edward Gibbon’s eyes, Commodus took over and precipitated the empire’s downfall. After almost 2,000 years, it’s the philosophy we remember. But is it fair to shoehorn such a complex character into such a small box?

To answer the question, it’s important to go back to Marcus’ youth. Like many an emperor before him, he wasn’t born in the purple – that is, he wasn’t born to an emperor. No one knew