Marcus Aurelius was born in Rome on April 26, 121 AD. He was raised in an environment dominated by Greek spirit and received a corresponding education. He became the heir to the throne by adoption, ascending in 161 after the death of his adoptive father Antoninus Pius. As an emperor, he was mainly concerned with legislation, also caring for the weaker social strata, while his defensive policy was successful, as his reign marked the beginning of the end of the pax Romana. He died during a campaign in March 180 AD.

As a philosopher, he is a consistent representative of Stoicism, one of the famous triad of the New Stoa (along with Epictetus and Seneca). With his work - written in Greek - "Meditations" (reflections sometimes in the form of commentary on the views and aphorisms of past philosophers, sometimes observations addressed by the writer to himself, and sometimes contemplations of an apologetic nature), he produced one of the most famous works of Stoic philosophy, a sample of ethical-practical thought, and additionally the views of the school regarding God and nature.