# Marius the Epicurean — Character guide

> Key figures in Marius the Epicurean by Walter Pater.

- [Marius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/marius_the_epicurean.md): Marius moves from his provincial childhood through Flavian's pagan aestheticism, the Stoic court of Aurelius, and the Christian household of Cecilia, sampling each as a possible home for his soul. His defining tension is
- [Marcus Aurelius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/marcus_aurelius.md): Aurelius receives Marius with real kindliness at court, reading his serious face as a physiognomist reads a soul, and admits the young scholar into the rarefied atmosphere of imperial letters and duty. Yet the emperor's 
- [Flavian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/flavian.md): Flavian, poor but patronized by a mysterious benefactor, rules the younger Marius through a fascination that is half intellectual and half sentimental, granting him an intimacy withheld from everyone else. He cultivates 
- [Cornelius Fronto](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/cornelius_fronto.md): Fronto is the literary lion of the Antonine court, the man whose name and patronage admit the provincial Marius into the highest circles of Roman letters and power. His devotion to archaic diction and verbal craftsmanshi
- [Cecilia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/cecilia.md): Cecilia presides over a community where children cling to her instinctively, where the dead are mourned with exultation, and where a rule against second marriages keeps earthly and heavenly love carefully apart. Marius i
- [Psyche](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/psyche.md): The mythological figure whose story of love and suffering is a recurring allegory in the narrative.
- [Lucius Verus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/lucius_verus.md): Co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, known for his more pleasure-loving disposition.
- [Faustina](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/faustina.md): Empress and wife of Marcus Aurelius, whose reputation for scandal touches the court.
- [Apuleius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/apuleius.md): Author of The Golden Ass, whose work is read and discussed by Marius and Flavian.
- [Antoninus Pius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/antoninus_pius.md): The preceding emperor, whose death is recounted at the start of Marius's Roman sojourn.
- [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/plato.md): The Greek philosopher whose ideas on love and reality are frequently referenced by characters.
- [Blandina](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/blandina.md): A Christian slave and martyr whose courage is celebrated in the account of the Gallic persecution.
- [Commodus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/commodus.md): The son of Marcus Aurelius, whose violent nature foreshadows the empire's decline.
- [Cupid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/cupid.md): The god of love, central to the myth of Psyche retold in the Golden Book.
- [Venus Speciosa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/venus_speciosa.md): The goddess of love, whose temple and cult are described in Marius's early religious experiences.
- [Heraclitus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/heraclitus.md): The pre-Socratic philosopher known for his doctrine of flux and the unity of opposites.
- [Aesculapius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/aesculapius.md): The god of medicine, whose temple is visited by Marius during his search for healing.
- [Ceres](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/ceres.md): The goddess of agriculture, whose rites are part of the old Roman religion.
- [Zephyrus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/zephyrus.md): The west wind, a minor mythological figure in the Psyche narrative.
- [Nero](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/nero.md): The infamous emperor, cited as a negative example of tyranny and excess.
- [Pliny](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/pliny.md): The Roman naturalist and author, cited for his observations on the natural world.
- [Constantine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/constantine.md): The first Christian emperor, referenced in the context of the church's later triumph.
- [Saint Francis of Assisi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/saint_francis_of_assisi.md): The medieval saint, mentioned as an example of Christian simplicity and love of nature.
- [Dante](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/dante.md): The Italian poet, whose Divine Comedy is alluded to in discussions of the afterlife.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters