eecti i have on the politics asas aspertaining to marcus aurelius. Well, i think it's more ofa cultural politics. It's a fascinating time for thinking about how the cultural politics of the period worked. They tended to build cities of a particular sort, and there was a lot of benevolent ar patronage of towns from the very wealthy. In that way, greeks became senators, and greeks could even become consuls. So there was a huge overlap between these areas.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the man who, according to Machiavelli, was the last of the Five Good Emperors. Marcus Aurelius, 121 to 180 AD, has long been known as a model of the philosopher king, a Stoic who, while on military campaigns, compiled ideas on how best to live his life, and how best to rule. These ideas became known as his Meditations, and they have been treasured by many as an insight into the mind of a Roman emperor, and an example of how to avoid the corruption of power in turbulent times.
The image above shows part of a bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.
With
Simon Goldhill
Professor of Greek Literature and Culture and Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge
Angie Hobbs
Professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield
And
Catharine Edwards
Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Birkbeck, University of London
Producer: Simon Tillotson