Frontea is appointed to be marcus's tutor intead of around the time that antoninus pierce becomes emperor, nthe hested of 18 19. And we are very fortunate because we do actually have a collection of letters exchanged between marcus and fronto over a roughly 20 year period. Some scholars have suggested they were lovers, potentially. But i think we can certainly see here a sort of engagement in in the sort of tradition, perhaps, within the the platonic schoolf kind of the teaching relationship as a sort of almost eroticise relationships.
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