Marcus Aurelius Research Paper

Marcus Aurelius was born on April 20, 121 AD into a family of royalty. His uncle and adoptive father, Antoninus Pius, was the emperor of Rome. Aurelius, too, was trained from birth to be a great ruler like his father. At age eleven, he dedicated himself to religion, although he considered philosophy to be the "true, inward" religion, one which did not require ceremonies necessary in others. He was appointed by Emperor Hadrian to priesthood in 129. The Emperor also supervised his education, which was with the best professors of literature and philosophy of the time. From his early twenties, he deserted his other studies for philosophy. In 161, Marcus Aurelius ascended the throne and shared his imperial power with his adopted brother Lucius
The movie never showed Marcus Aurelius in his youth when he was the ruler, but only showed when he was a dying man. Of course, the movie was not based off Marcus Aurelius, but it could have gone more in depth of what his beliefs were on life and his citizens. The movie kind of represents Rome as a great city, but in reality, while Aurelius was the Emperor, Rome was not all that great. Aurelius went through a tough time during his reign. He spent most of the times defending his empire against the Parthians, Germans, and Britons. The movie also shows him getting killed by his son Commodus, but he really died of a plague during another war in which he was trying to defend the territory of
He considered them a threat to his "imperial system". He thought the Christians were "superstitious and immoral". However, he did not know very much of the Christian doctrines that he was so against. He is considered to be the "Last of the Great Emperors."
He ruled Rome during a time of declining prosperity. Again, he ruled during a time when Rome was in constant battle with the Parthians, Germans, and Britons. However, he did try to improve his home while he ruled it. He was a man concerned with public welfare. He always made choices that helped the people instead of himself. He was not a selfish ruler as some rulers were. During his reign, he did such things as open schools, orphanages, and hospitals for the poor people in Rome. He also tried to "humanize" criminal laws, and have masters treat their slaves in a humane way.
What Marcus Aurelius is also known for besides being a great ruler was his view on Stoicism. Aurelius was a strong follower of Stoicism and in order to show that, he wrote a series of collections that is known as Meditation. This work is an intimate self-portrait of himself and what his views are on Stoicism. It is said that Aurelius wrote many of these collections while he was in battle. Meditations is now a classic of the Stoic