Stoicism As A Way Of Life In Ancient Rome

Before Stoicism began to be viewed as a way of life in Rome, Platonic and Aristotelian traditions were the basis for the Roman philosophy and way of life . The focus of everyone was to have been put towards time for education and knowledge along with other time for daily leisure activities . The modern US government, along with other democratic governments, have made their own systems off of the way that the Romans based theirs . This, along with other examples, shows how well thought out the Roman philosophies were, which leads to show how the empire kept so strong for so long. The Romans also held strong beliefs in terms of virtues and living to the utmost that they could be in terms of character. They held themselves up to high moral standards that they did all they could to live up to . For Romans, life was about living with as much virtue as they could. This meant that one must keep high standards for themselves that they could fulfill

The Romans who followed the beliefs of Plato, or Platonists, believed in “the contemplation of and the mind’s reunion with a higher, intelligible realm, or theory in that sense. ” Both Platonists and Aristotelians held a way of life consisting of this contemplation and practical reason through social activity . Altogether Roman philosophies were based on the virtuous, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of man, making it so one always had the best character possible. Starting around 3rd century CE, Epicurus, a philosopher of Stoicism, had a major impact on the way that Romans would soon view Stoicism and its way of living. He believed that in order to achieve serenity of mind, one must turn away all emotion that would disturb their own mind. Emperor Marcus Aurelius, also known