Meditations · Book I and beyond
The People of Marcus Aurelius
Book I of the Meditations is a ledger of remembered debts: Marcus thanks, one by one, those who formed him. Gathered here is everyone he names — with biographical notes and links to the passages where they appear.
I familia · 5
Family
Relatives by blood and adoption — those Marcus owed his birth and upbringing to.- Antoninus Pius Ἀντωνῖνος ὁ Εὐσεβής (стандартная греческая форма с эквивалентом «Pius») 86 – 7 March 161 CE; emperor 138–161 Roman emperor 138–161, the adoptive father of Marcus and his immediate political predecessor
- Domitia Lucilla (the Younger) Δομιτία Λουκίλλα c. 100 – c. 155–161 CE mother of Marcus Aurelius
- Lucius Catilius Severus Λούκιος Κατίλιος Σεουῆρος c. 60/70 – c. 138/9 CE maternal great-grandfather of Marcus Aurelius (through marriage to Domitia Lucilla Maior)
- Marcus Annius Verus Μᾶρκος Ἄννιος Οὐῆρος c. 50 – 138 CE paternal grandfather of Marcus Aurelius
- Marcus Annius Verus the Younger Μᾶρκος Ἄννιος Οὐῆρος c. 90 – c. 124 CE father of Marcus Aurelius
II praeceptores · 13
Teachers & mentors
Those who personally taught Marcus philosophy, rhetoric and grammar. The core of Book I.- Alexander the Grammarian Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ γραμματικός / Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Κοτιαεύς c. 80/90 – c. 150 CE (exact dates conjectural; died in Rome during Marcus's lifetime, before his accession) teacher of Greek language and literature to Marcus Aurelius in Rome
- Alexander the Platonist Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Πλατωνικός 2nd century CE, active under Antoninus Pius and Marcus (exact dates of birth and death unknown; if the identification with Peloplaton is correct, he served Marcus during the Parthian war, early 160s) the only teacher in Book I explicitly assigned to the Platonic school
- Apollonius of Chalcedon Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Χαλκηδόνιος first half of the 2nd century CE; exact dates unknown (active in Athens and Rome in the 130s–140s) one of the principal Stoic teachers of Marcus Aurelius
- Bacchius Βάκχειος (вариант: Βάκχιος) first half of the 2nd century CE; exact dates unknown the first of Marcus Aurelius's philosophical teachers in the list at Med. 1.6
- Cinna Catulus Κατοῦλος (форма, употреблённая Marcus'ом в Med. 1.13) 2nd century CE, exact dates of birth and death unknown; active during the period of Marcus's education — approximately late 130s to the 140s one of the Stoic teachers of Marcus, mentioned in the canonical list of philosophical teachers…
- Claudius Maximus Κλαύδιος Μάξιμος (форма Μαξίμου в Med. 1.15) 2nd century CE; suffect consul (approximately 142 or 144); proconsul of Africa (approximately 158/159, when he presided at the trial of Apuleius); death evidently before the end of Marcus's reign (precise dates unknown) one of the principal Stoic teachers of Marcus (listed in the canonical catalogue of teachers i…
- Diognetus Διόγνητος late 1st / early 2nd century CE (exact dates unknown; probably active in the 130s) one of Marcus Aurelius's early teachers (painting, per SHA
- Gnaeus Claudius Severus Γναῖος Κλαύδιος Σεουῆρος (форма Σεουήρου в Med. 1.14) 2nd century CE, active under Antoninus Pius and Marcus (exact dates of birth and death not known; consulate — approximately 173, the precise date is disputed; death evidently before the end of Marcus's reign) Roman senator, Peripatetic philosopher
- Marcianus Μαρκιανός first half of the 2nd century CE; dates unknown the third of Marcus Aurelius's philosophical teachers in the list at Med. 1.6
- Marcus Cornelius Fronto Μᾶρκος Κορνήλιος Φρόντων c. 95 – c. 167 CE (precise dates unknown; born under Domitian or Nerva, died before 169, probably in the mid-160s) leading Latin rhetor of the Antonine age
- Quintus Junius Rusticus Κόϊντος Ἰούνιος Ῥουστίκος c. 100 – after 170 CE (exact dates unknown) principal philosophical mentor of Marcus Aurelius
- Sextus of Chaeronea Σέξτος ὁ Χαιρωνεύς second quarter of the 2nd century CE — after 170/180; taught at Athens and Rome, lived to old age (Marcus continued attending his lectures even as emperor) one of the principal Stoic teachers of Marcus Aurelius
- Tandasis Τανδάσις (вариант рукописей: Θανδάσις) first half of the 2nd century CE; dates unknown the second of Marcus Aurelius's philosophical teachers in the list at Med. 1.6
III exempla · 8
Philosophers & contemporaries
Thinkers Marcus cites as examples and figures of his orbit — not his teachers.- Aelius Aristides Πόπλιος Αἴλιος Ἀριστείδης Θεόδωρος c. 117 — c. 181 CE (the exact dates of birth and death are uncertain; active under Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius) the principal representative of the Second Sophistic of the Antonine generation
- Alexander the Great Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας (Ἀλέξανδρος Γ´) 356 – 323 BCE king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire, pupil of Aristotle
- Democritus Δημόκριτος ὁ Ἀβδηρίτης c. 460 – c. 370 BCE founder (with Leucippus) of the atomist system
- Heraclitus Ἡράκλειτος ὁ Ἐφέσιος c. 540 – c. 480 BCE (floruit c. 500) Ionian natural philosopher, "the Obscure" (ὁ Σκοτεινός)
- Monimus Μόνιμος ὁ Συρακούσιος 2nd half of the 4th century BCE pupil of Diogenes of Sinope and Crates of Thebes
- Plutarch of Chaeronea Πλούταρχος ὁ Χαιρωνεύς c. 45 — c. 125 CE the principal philosophical-literary figure of the Greek province in the Antonine age
- Socrates Σωκράτης ὁ Ἀθηναῖος c. 470 – 399 BCE founder of ethical philosophy
- Theophrastus Θεόφραστος c. 371–287 BCE successor of Aristotle at the Lyceum, scholarch of the Peripatetic school (322–287 BCE)