Latest / Marcus Aurelius: Rome's Philosopher King — Fexingo History / Marcus Aurelius and the Great Plague of Athens Parallel
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- Lucas: So, Luna, we've talked a lot about Marcus Aurelius and his wars, his philosophy, his family — but one thing that shadows nearly every episode is the Antonine Plague. It hit the empire around 165 AD and lasted well into his reign, and it might have killed up to a third of the population in some areas. Luna: A third? That's catastrophic. How did Marcus deal with it? Lucas: That's what I want to get into today. And interestingly, there's a parallel that historians often draw — with another great plague that struck Athens during the Peloponnesian War, about six hundred years earlier. The Athenian plague was described by Thucydides, and the Antonine Plague was documented by Galen, the famous physician. Both plagues hit during times of war, both overwhelmed the cities, and both tested the philosophical convictions of their leaders. Luna: So Marcus, as a Stoic, would have had a particular approach to something so uncontrollable. Lucas: Exactly. And before we dive deeper, I want to mention something quickly. If you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, you know we keep this show ad-free because of listeners who support us. If you'd like to help keep it that way, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a small gesture that goes a long way. Now, back to the plague — Galen was working as a physician in Rome when the plague arrived, and his writings give us our best clinical picture. He described fever, diarrhea, skin eruptions, and a black rash. He called it the 'Great Pestilence'. Luna: And he was actually there, treating patients. Lucas: Yes. Galen fled Rome at one point, but he returned. He noted that the plague seemed to originate with the army returning from the east — specifically from the campaign against the Parthians, led by Lucius Verus. The troops brought it back to Rome, and then it spread along the trade routes. The port of Ostia became a hotspot. Luna: So it's a classic case of war spreading disease. Lucas: Exactly. And the parallels with Athens are striking. Thucydides wrote that the Athenian plague started in Ethiopia, passed through Egypt, and arrived at the Piraeus — the port of Athens. Sound familiar? Both plagues came through ports, both hit crowded urban centers, and both occurred during prolonged conflicts. Thucydides himself caught the plague but survived, and he described the symptoms in detail: fever, red eyes, throat and tongue bleeding, coughing, and a sense of despair. Luna: Despair — that's a psychological symptom too. Lucas: Right. Thucydides noted that people stopped fearing the gods or human laws because they expected to die anyway. There was a breakdown of social order. Marcus, as a Stoic, would have seen that as a failure of reason. In his Meditations, he writes about how the plague — though he never names it directly — is just another part of nature. He says: 'A plague may sweep away the city, but the wise man will remain calm, for he knows that death is not an evil.' But he also took practical measures. Luna: What kind of measures? Did they have anything like quarantine? Lucas: They did. The Romans had a concept of 'purgatio' — purification rituals — but also practical isolation. There's evidence that Marcus issued edicts to regulate burials and to prevent the spread of infection. He also appointed a special official, the 'praefectus annonae' — we talked about that in a previous episode — to ensure grain supply wasn't disrupted. But the plague decimated the army. During the Marcomannic Wars, he had to recruit gladiators, slaves, and even brigands to fill the legions. Luna: That's how desperate it got. And that's a direct consequence of the plague, not just the war. Lucas: Absolutely. Some historians argue that the Antonine Plague was a major factor in the empire's decline. It weakened the economy, reduced tax revenues, and triggered a labor shortage. It also contributed to the Crisis of the Third Century, though that was still decades away. Marcus himself died in 180 AD, probably from an illness — some suspect the plague, though we can't be sure. Luna: So the plague might have killed the philosopher king himself. Lucas: It's possible. And here's another parallel: Thucydides said that the Athenian plague killed Pericles, the great statesman who led Athens. Both Pericles and Marcus were leaders who faced a plague during a war, and both died before the conflicts ended. Pericles died in 429 BC, two years into the plague, and Athens eventually lost the Peloponnesian War. Marcus died in 180, and the Marcomannic Wars ended soon after, but the empire was left vulnerable. Luna: So it's like history repeating itself. Lucas: In a way. But Marcus's Stoicism gave him a unique perspective. In his Meditations, he often reflects on the fragility of life. One passage goes: 'How many have died, how many lie buried, and how many will die tomorrow? All is ephemeral — both the memory and the object of memory.' He saw the plague as a natural event, not a punishment from the gods. That's very different from the Athenian reaction, where people blamed the gods or resorted to superstition. Luna: So he applied philosophy to real life. Lucas: He tried to. And his response wasn't just intellectual. He also showed compassion. He created public funds to care for orphans and the sick. He reduced taxes for cities hit hard by the plague. He even sold imperial property to raise money for the war and relief efforts. That's the kind of leader he was. Luna: It's hard not to admire that. Lucas: It is. But the plague also exposed the limits of imperial power. There was no central public health system. The empire relied on local magistrates and the goodwill of the wealthy. And the disease kept recurring — there were outbreaks for decades after Marcus's death. So while he did what he could, the empire was permanently weakened. Luna: And that's something we don't always think about when we picture Marcus as the philosopher on the throne. Lucas: Exactly. We see the equestrian statue, we read the Meditations, but the reality was a constant struggle against forces he couldn't control. The plague was one of those forces. And by comparing it to the Athenian plague, we can see how ancient societies grappled with similar challenges — and how a Stoic emperor tried to meet them with reason and duty. Luna: It makes you wonder what he would have thought of our modern pandemics. Lucas: Probably the same thing: that they are part of nature, and our job is to respond with virtue. It's a tough standard to live up to.