Augustus vs Marcus Aurelius
How do Augustus and Marcus Aurelius compare? Here is a side-by-side look at their lives, achievements and historical impact.
| Augustus | Marcus Aurelius | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifespan | 63 BC – 14 | 121 – 180 |
| Born | Rome, Italy | Rome, Italy |
| Occupation | Emperor, Ruler, Statesman | Emperor, Ruler, Philosopher |
| Known for | First Roman emperor, The Pax Romana, Founding the Roman Empire, Heir of Julius Caesar | The Meditations, Stoic philosophy, The last Good Emperor, Philosopher-king |
| Fields | — | Ethics |
| Influence score | 94/100 | 90/100 |
Augustus
Augustus was the first Roman emperor, the heir of Julius Caesar who ended a century of civil war, established the Roman Empire, and inaugurated the Pax Romana.
Full biography →Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius was a Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, the last of the "Five Good Emperors", whose private journal, the Meditations, is the most cherished work of Stoic thought.
Full biography →You Might Also Compare
Julius Caesar
95Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman whose conquest of Gaul and victory in civil war made him dictator of Rome, ending the Republic and paving the way for the Empire.
Why His great-uncle and adoptive father, whose name and legacy launched his rise to power.
Cleopatra VII
90Cleopatra VII was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, a shrewd and learned monarch whose alliances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony placed her at the center of Roman politics.
Why Octavian defeated Cleopatra and Mark Antony at Actium, annexing Egypt to Rome.
Cicero
88Cicero was a Roman statesman, orator and philosopher whose speeches and writings defined Latin prose, transmitted Greek philosophy to Rome, and championed the values of the Roman Republic.
Why An early supporter whom Augustus then abandoned to death in the proscriptions.
Zeno of Citium
86Zeno of Citium was an ancient Greek philosopher who founded Stoicism, teaching that virtue and reason are the path to a good life, in lectures given at the Painted Porch (Stoa) in Athens.
Why The founder of the Stoic philosophy that Marcus Aurelius practiced and recorded.
Plato
96Plato was a Greek philosopher who founded the Academy in Athens, wrote the foundational dialogues of Western philosophy, and developed the influential theory of Forms.
Why Whose ideal of the philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius came closest to embodying.
Ashoka the Great
90Ashoka was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire who, after a devastating war, embraced Buddhism and non-violence, becoming one of history's most remarkable rulers.
Why Also a emperor & ruler · Comparable historical impact