Hi, thanks for tuning in to ancient Greece declassified.

Episode 62, Marcus Aurelius revisited.

What do Arnold Schwarzenegger, Camilla Cabello, Jerry Seinfeld, and Bill Maher all have in common?

They've all recently remarked in public that they've read the diary of Marcus Aurelius, who became Emperor of Rome in 161 AD. You may know him from the opening scenes of

the movie Gladiator, which depict the aged emperor leading a successful campaign against the

barbarian, Germanic tribes that threatened Rome from the north. But it wasn't Marcus's

military triumphs that made him famous throughout posterity.

It was the journal that he supposedly kept for himself in which he wrote things like,

Stop Complaining You Lazy Bum, and Get Out of Bed and Do Something Useful with Your Life.

I'm paraphrasing, but that's pretty much in there.

Penguin and other major publishers report publishing

hundreds of thousands of copies of this book a year. So what is it about this ancient diary

of an emperor that resonates with people today? And is the traditional image of Marcus Aurelius as

an enlightened, benevolent philosopher king really true, or is it perhaps

the product of a carefully crafted imperial PR campaign?

That's what we're going to find out today.

Our guest today is an expert on Marcus Aurelius.

Judith Stove is a writer based in Sydney, Australia, and a co-organizer of Stoicon X Melbourne.

Her articles on literature and history have been published in numerous journals around the world,

and her third book, Marcus Aurelius and his legacies,

Seeking Rome's Kingdom of Gold, is out now with Peninsword UK.

Judy Stove, welcome to Ancient Greece to Classified.

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