# Marcus Aurelius — Marius the Epicurean character guide > Marcus Aurelius in Marius the Epicurean by Walter Pater. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Aurelius **First appearance:** 0010-part-ii-viii-animula-vagula ## Snapshot The philosopher-emperor whose weary, self-disciplined Stoicism offers Marius a model of virtue that seems noble, necessary, and somehow insufficient. ## Who they are 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 virtue is one of endurance and renunciation, a religion of good conduct sustained by effort rather than joy. For Marius he embodies the highest pagan answer to the question of how to live, and the novel quietly measures that answer against what comes after. ## Relationships ### [Faustina](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/faustina) _family_ Faustina is Marcus Aurelius's wife, their relationship marked by imperial duty, rumored infidelity, and Marcus's philosophical tolerance. ### [Cornelius Fronto](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/cornelius_fronto) _professional_ Cornelius Fronto was Marcus Aurelius's rhetoric tutor and later correspondent, maintaining a respectful but intellectually critical relationship. ### [Plato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/plato) _psychological_ Marcus Aurelius draws on Plato's philosophy as a foundational influence for his Stoic worldview and concept of the ideal ruler. ### [Flavian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/flavian) _social_ Flavian and Marcus Aurelius are distant acquaintances through court circles, with Flavian's hedonism contrasting the emperor's Stoicism. ### [Lucius Verus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/lucius_verus) _family_ Lucius Verus is Marcus Aurelius's adoptive brother and co-emperor, their relationship strained by differing temperaments and political pressures. ### [Antoninus Pius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/antoninus_pius) _family_ Antoninus Pius is Marcus Aurelius's adoptive father and predecessor as emperor, a model of virtuous rule and paternal guidance. ## In the story ### [Change of Air](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-i-iii-change-of-air) Mentioned as the wise emperor who shared a belief in medical dreams, contextualizing the era's fascination with health and divine intervention. ### [VII: A Pagan End](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-i-vii-a-pagan-end) Referenced as the philosophic emperor whose colleague Lucius Verus returned in triumph. ### [IX: New Cyrenaicism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-ii-ix-new-cyrenaicism) Mentioned as the emperor to whose service Marius has been called, and as a fellow 'lecturer' in the era of rhetoricians. ### [XI: “The Most Religious City in the World”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-ii-xi-the-most-religious-city-in-the-world) Aurelius is described as a devout polytheist and philosopher who combines Stoic principles with public religious devotion, restoring the worship of Isis and setting festival days. ### [XII: The Divinity That Doth Hedge a King](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-ii-xii-the-divinity-that-doth-hedge-a-king) Central figure of the ovation; noted for his asceticism, pontifical abstraction, and discourse on contempt for the world. ### [XIII: The "Mistress and Mother" of Palaces](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-ii-xiii-the-mistress-and-mother-of-palaces) Receives Marius with kindliness, converses in Latin with Greek phrases; portrayed as a Stoic philosopher and pontifex, maintaining authority without guards, yet surrounded by religious prestige. ### [Manly Amusement](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-ii-xiv-manly-amusement) Aurelius presides over the shows with complaisance, averting his eyes and reading, but his tolerance marks a permanent point of difference with Marius. ### [Stoicism at Court](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iii-xv-stoicism-at-court) The philosophic emperor, present with gilded fasces, whose authority sanctions Fronto's discourse; his own words on the 'reasonable will of the oldest city' are quoted. ### [Beata Urbs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iii-xvii-beata-urbs) Sells imperial treasures for war, meditates on the Celestial City, and mourns Lucius Verus. ### [The Ceremony of the Dart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iii-xviii-the-ceremony-of-the-dart) Aurelius is depicted as a sad philosopher who communes with the divine reason, despises the body, and tolerates evil; he is seen grieving over his son Annius Verus's illness. ### [XIX: The Will as Vision](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iii-xix-the-will-as-vision) Departs for the Danube war, sells imperial treasures for the public good, and is seen by Marius as a suffering, sacrificial king. ### [Guests](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iv-i-guests) The imperial prince present at the supper, who entertains guests with a playful trick and signals the end of the evening. ### [XXII: "The Minor Peace of the Church"](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iv-xxii-the-minor-peace-of-the-church) Marius contrasts the Christian serenity with Aurelius's heavy burden of unrelieved melancholy, though Aurelius is also noted for his own interior sweetness. ### [XXIV: A Conversation Not Imaginary](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iv-xxiv-a-conversation-not-imaginary) Mentioned as having framed a law to prevent defacing tombs, reflecting his piety. ### [XXV: Sunt Lacrimae Rerum](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iv-xxv-sunt-lacrimae-rerum) The Stoic emperor is mentioned as Marius's patron who made charity fashionable by forgiving public debts in a grand bonfire in the Forum. ### [The Martyrs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iv-xxvi-the-martyrs) Referenced in contrast to Christian compassion; his discourses are described as having a 'hard contempt' for pain and death. ### [XXVII: The Triumph of Marcus Aurelius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iv-xxvii-the-triumph-of-marcus-aurelius) Celebrates a full triumph, appears mediocritized to Marius, and is later in audience with the Faustinian Children. ### [XXVIII: Anima Naturaliter Christiana](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/chapters/part-iv-xxviii-anima-naturaliter-christiana) Marcus Aurelius is implicitly referenced through the philosophical tone of Marius's reflections on life and death. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters/marcus_aurelius - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/marius_the_epicurean_se/characters