Marcus Aurelius was a great philosopher and a great Emperor. Not the fantastic, savior-of-the-Empire-if-he-lived sort as he’s sometimes portrayed, but a great Emperor nonetheless. He was obsessively dutiful to affairs of state, well-read and deeply interested in legal matters, and at no point engaged in the expensive vanities of some other Emperors. His idiot son is the biggest strike against him, though in Aurelius’s defense, Commodus didn’t really decline until a few years in sole power got to his head.
Well, JUST wanted to be a gladiator is selling our bombastic madman a bit short, since he considered himself the reincarnation of Hercules and tried to rename Rome and all its institutions (and ALL the months of the year) after himself, but yes, he was the one who was well-known for fighting in the arena (in rigged matches, of course) and surrounding himself with gladiators, athletes, and charioteers.
If he actually fought lions solo, I’ll give that to him. They don’t particularly respect rank. That’s not really a relevant skill for an Emperor, though, either in the ideal or in the practical mob boss sense.
Well, I’m sold.
How overrated is Marcus Aurelius, in your estimation? Appointing his idiot son Commodus as successor is an obvious strike.
Marcus Aurelius was a great philosopher and a great Emperor. Not the fantastic, savior-of-the-Empire-if-he-lived sort as he’s sometimes portrayed, but a great Emperor nonetheless. He was obsessively dutiful to affairs of state, well-read and deeply interested in legal matters, and at no point engaged in the expensive vanities of some other Emperors. His idiot son is the biggest strike against him, though in Aurelius’s defense, Commodus didn’t really decline until a few years in sole power got to his head.
Commodus was the guy that really just wanted to be a gladiator, right?
Well, JUST wanted to be a gladiator is selling our bombastic madman a bit short, since he considered himself the reincarnation of Hercules and tried to rename Rome and all its institutions (and ALL the months of the year) after himself, but yes, he was the one who was well-known for fighting in the arena (in rigged matches, of course) and surrounding himself with gladiators, athletes, and charioteers.
If he actually fought lions solo, I’ll give that to him. They don’t particularly respect rank. That’s not really a relevant skill for an Emperor, though, either in the ideal or in the practical mob boss sense.