
Marcus Aurelius
The Stoic Emperor
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Narrated by:
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Donald J. Robertson
About this listen
Experience the world of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and the tremendous challenges he faced and overcame with the help of Stoic philosophy
This novel biography brings Marcus Aurelius (121-180 CE) to life for a new generation by exploring the emperor’s fascinating psychological journey. Donald J. Robertson examines Marcus’s relationships with key figures in his life, such as his mother, Domitia Lucilla, and the emperor Hadrian, as well as his Stoic tutors. He draws extensively on Marcus’s own Meditations and correspondence, and he examines the emperor’s actions as detailed in the Augustan History and other ancient texts.
Marcus Aurelius struggled to reconcile his philosophy and moral values with the political pressures he faced as emperor at the height of Roman power. Robertson examines Marcus’s attitude toward slavery and the moral dilemma posed by capturing enemies in warfare; his attitude toward women; the role of Stoicism in shaping his response to the threat of civil war; the treatment of Christians under his rule; and the naming of his notorious son Commodus as his successor.
Throughout, the Meditations is used to shed light on the mind of the emperor—his character, values, and motives—as Robertson skillfully weaves together Marcus’s inner journey as a philosopher with the outer events of his life as a Roman emperor.
©2024 Donald J. Robertson (P)2024 Yale University PressListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed British historian Anthony Everitt delivers a compelling account of the former orphan who became Roman emperor in A.D. 117 after the death of his guardian Trajan. Hadrian strengthened Rome by ending territorial expansion and fortifying existing borders. And - except for the uprising he triggered in Judea - his strength-based diplomacy brought peace to the realm after a century of warfare.
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A Biography "too tall for the height of the cella"
- By Darwin8u on 08-23-12
By: Anthony Everitt
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Lives of the Stoics
- The Art of Living from Zeno to Marcus Aurelius
- By: Ryan Holiday, Stephen Hanselman
- Narrated by: Ryan Holiday
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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From the best-selling authors of The Daily Stoic comes an inspiring guide to the lives of the Stoics, and what the ancients can teach us about happiness, success, resilience, and virtue. In Lives of the Stoics, Holiday and Hanselman present the fascinating lives of the men and women who strove to live by the timeless Stoic virtues of Courage. Justice. Temperance. Wisdom. Organized in digestible, mini-biographies of all the well-known - and not so well-known - Stoics, this book vividly brings home what Stoicism was like for the people who loved it and lived it.
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Awful narration
- By Jordan Bailey on 10-03-20
By: Ryan Holiday, and others
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Lost Cities of the Ancient World
- By: Philip Matyszak
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The ruins of ancient Athens, Luxor, and Rome are familiar cornerstones of world history, visited by travelers from across the globe. But what about the cities that have dropped off the map? Where are they, and what can they tell us about our past? In this compendium of forgotten cities, Philip Matyszak explores the trials, tribulations, and triumphs these cities faced.
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The presentation of the reader
- By Eugene D. on 07-28-24
By: Philip Matyszak
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Crassus
- The First Tycoon
- By: Peter Stothard
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Marcus Licinius Crassus (115-53 BCE) was a modern man in an ancient world, a pioneer disrupter of finance and politics, and the richest man of the last years of the Roman republic. Without his catastrophic ambition, this trailblazing tycoon might have quietly entered history as Rome's first modern political financier. Instead, Crassus and his son led an army on an unprovoked campaign against Parthia into what are now the borderlands of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, losing a battle at Carrhae which scarred Roman minds for generations.
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Excellent history of an elusive figure
- By john rees on 07-01-23
By: Peter Stothard
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The Complete Stoicism Collection
- Letters from a Stoic (All 124 Letters), Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, The Enchiridion, On Peace of Mind, On Anger, On Providence, The Discourses, The Golden Sayings, Fragments Attributed to Epictetus, Biographies on Marcus Aurelius, Seneca & Epictetus and All Other Stoic Works
- By: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus
- Narrated by: Ken Grezin
- Length: 36 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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This is your gateway to self-mastery, resilience, and inner peace through the works of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus. For over two thousand years, their words have shaped leaders, thinkers, and everyday people searching for meaning. The Complete Stoicism Collection brings their most powerful ideas directly to you, translated and adapted for the contemporary listener. Whether you seek practical advice on how to face life’s challenges or wish to deepen your understanding of Stoic philosophy, this collection has everything you need.
By: Marcus Aurelius, and others
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The Dangerous Life and Ideas of Diogenes the Cynic
- By: Jean-Manuel Roubineau, Malcolm DeBevoise - translator, Phillip Mitsis - editor
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Beyond the rehashed clichés, this book inspires us to rediscover Diogenes' philosophical legacy—whether it be the challenge to the established order, the detachment from materialism, the choice of a return to nature, or the formulation of a cosmopolitan ideal strongly rooted in the belief that virtue is better revealed in action than in theory.
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Diogenes is something else!
- By Josiah S. on 01-31-25
By: Jean-Manuel Roubineau, and others
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Stolen Fragments
- Black Markets, Bad Faith, and the Illicit Trade in Ancient Artefacts
- By: Roberta Mazza
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2012, Steve Green, billionaire and president of Hobby Lobby, announced a purchase of a Biblical artefact—a fragment of papyrus carrying lines from Paul's letter to the Romans, and dated to the second century CE. Noted scholar Roberta Mazza was stunned. When was this piece discovered, and how could Green acquire such a rare item? The answers, which Mazza spent the next ten years uncovering, came as a shock: the fragment had come from a famous collection held at Oxford University, and its rightful owners had no idea it had been sold.
By: Roberta Mazza
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A Field Guide to a Happy Life
- 53 Brief Lessons for Living
- By: Massimo Pigliucci
- Narrated by: Peter Coleman
- Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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A brilliant philosopher reimagines Stoicism for our modern age in this thought-provoking guide to a better life.
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Another great stoic book by Massimo Pigliucci.
- By N.L. on 09-18-20
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The Quest for Character
- What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us About Our Search for Good Leaders
- By: Massimo Pigliucci
- Narrated by: Alan Carlson
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Is good character something that can be taught? In 430 BCE, Socrates set out to teach the vain, power-seeking Athenian statesman Alcibiades how to be a good person—and failed spectacularly. Alcibiades went on to beguile his city into a hopeless war with Syracuse, and all of Athens paid the price. In The Quest for Character, philosophy professor Massimo Pigliucci tells this famous story and asks what we can learn from it.
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another great work by Massimo
- By Cameron on 11-14-22
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Caligula
- The Mad Emperor of Rome
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In this book about Rome’s most infamous emperor, expert author, Stephen Dando-Collins chronicles all the palace intrigues and murders that led to Caligula becoming emperor, and details the horrors of his manic reign and the murderous consequences brought about at the hand of his sister Agrippina the Younger, his uncle Claudius and his nephew Nero.
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A solid overview, sadly stained by modernity.
- By Kaiser on 08-22-20
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The Roman Emperor Aurelian
- Restorer of the World: New Revised Edition
- By: John F. White
- Narrated by: Keval Shah
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The ancient Sibylline prophecies had foretold that the Roman Empire would last for 1000 years. As the time for the expected dissolution approached in the middle of the third century AD, the empire was lapsing into chaos, with seemingly interminable civil wars over the imperial succession. The western empire had seceded under a rebel emperor and the eastern empire was controlled by another usurper. Barbarians took advantage of the anarchy to kill and plunder all over the provinces.
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Coins- Early and Often
- By Colin MacKenzie on 12-16-23
By: John F. White
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Hadrian's Wall
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Stretching 80 miles from coast to coast across northern England, Hadrian's Wall is the largest Roman artifact known today. It is commonly viewed as a defiant barrier, the end of the empire, a place where civilization stopped and barbarism began. In fact, the massive structure remains shrouded in mystery. Was the wall intended to keep out the Picts, who inhabited the North? Or was it merely a symbol of Roman power and wealth? What was life like for soldiers stationed along its expanse? How was the extraordinary structure built - with what technology, skills, and materials?
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Makes me want to Go there.
- By John Ciccariello on 06-07-18
A gem for historians and life coaches
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I listened to this audio book 3x.
Well written.
Solid research.
Educational.
Entertaining.
50% history of Roman Empire.
The other 50% philosophy. and application to MA’s life.
More history than “Think like a Roman Emperor”.
Author reads his book and does a good job.
I also bought the book.
If you like philosophy and Roman history then get this audio book.
Worth every minute!
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A must read for anyone interested in history of Roman Empire during Marcus Aurelius
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insightful
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Even more so, it provides great insight on how he applied his Stoic philosophy to the way he faced and overcame those challenges. It’s an excellent introduction to Stoicism, without setting out to be such.
For me, this book helped dispel some widespread myths about Stoicism. Does Stoicism seek emotionless indifference?Marcus Aurelius was known to have wept publicly in the face of tragedy. He was warm and affectionate.
My biggest “aha” moment came when I learned that Stoic “apatheia” did not mean “apathy,” or indifference, but instead freedom from overwhelming, destructive emotions. Apatheia is not emotional indifference, it is emotional mastery.
Illuminating biography
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Detailed history of his life and important relationships
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Not as in depth as I was hoping
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Experience The Life of The Man
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I first discovered Robertson’s work after hearing him on Ryan Holiday’s podcast, and I’ve been a devoted fan ever since. Books like this, which explore Stoic beliefs and their practical applications to daily life, should be required reading for today’s youth. In fact, everyone could benefit from studying philosophy and embracing Stoic virtues to navigate life’s challenges with wisdom and resilience. In a culture that seems to have lost touch with its moral and ethical foundations, works like this remind us of the importance of returning to our roots.
Timeless Wisdom for Today’s Political Uncertainty
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Amazing research - most impressive
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