Markos Aurelios was born in Rome on April 26, 121 AD. He was raised in an environment dominated by Greek culture and received a corresponding education. He was adopted as the heir to the throne and ascended to it in 161, after the death of his adoptive father Antoninus Pius. As emperor, he was mainly interested in legislation, also caring for the weaker social classes, while his defensive policy was successful, as his reign marked the end of the pax Romana. He died in March 180 AD during a military campaign.

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 "Meditations" (written in Greek), he provided one of the most famous works of Stoic philosophy, a sample of the ethical-practical, primarily reflective, and also of the school's views on God and nature.