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a concern. There was a weakness in his left hip and right forefinger, and ringworm was probably present.
More importantly, Augustus fought terrible bouts of illness: abscessed liver, influenza and seasonal
complaints. The worst came in 23 B.C., when it was generally believed that he would die. His private
physician, Antonius Musa, managed to heal him.
A practical man, no great luxuries were kept in the palace, and his furnishings, like his diet and dress,
were simple. He mistrusted the mob, disliked large crowds, and once, during the Civil Wars, had to be
rescued by Marc Antony from a group of rioters.
Augustus was educated in rhetoric and studied with Apollodorus of Pergamum, from whom he learned
Greek. Areus, a philosopher, and his sons Dionysius and Nicanor also provided elements of Augustus'
education. Although he never mastered Greek, he was a patron of Greek poetry and intellectuals in
general, especially writers and philosophers. He himself possessed literary aspirations.
Most of Augustus' writings are not extant. Only the famous Res Gestae, which listed his achievements,
was preserved, in inscriptions, from antiquity. Augustus also penned an attack on Brutus' Eulogy of Cato, a
philosophical treatise and an autobiography of 13 books. Attempts at poetry and tragedy were made in his
short poem, Sicily, and in his Epiphanus and Ajax. He destroyed Ajax himself. His style was simple but
idiomatic, with numerous peculiarities of grammar and spelling.
¤ AURELIAN (Lucius Domitius Aurelianus) (c. 215 A.D.-275 A.D.) Roman emperor from 270 to 275
A.D.; as a general in the field, one of the most successful of 3rd-cen-tury rulers, allowing a military
recovery for the Empire. He probably came from Sirmium, or perhaps Moesia, although his roots were
obscure. He did become a leading officer during the reign of Emperor Gallienus, and in 268, when the
general Aureolus revolted, he assumed that officer's command of the cavalry corps at Mediolanum
(Milan). During the reduction of the city, Aurelian became embroiled with Marcus Claudius (Claudius
Gothicus) in an imperial intrigue. Gallienus was murdered, and Claudius became emperor, with Aurelian
serving as Master of the Horse.
A series of campaigns against the Goths followed, but in January 270, Claudius died of the plague in
Sirmium. His brother Quintillus aspired to the throne, but Aurelian gained support of the army and was
elevated to the throne. Quintillus killed himself.
The state of imperial affairs was pitiful when Aurelian came to power. Barbarians threatened the frontiers
while usurpers divided the Roman world. General Tetricus was on the Rhine, and Zenobia, the queen of
Palmyra, stood with various generals and pretenders in her camp. Aurelian took the only course of action
open to him. The Empire had to be strengthened and unified. With the nickname Manu ad ferrum, "Hand-
on-Hilt," this burly, coarse but gifted soldier aspired to the title Restitutor Orbis, the "Restorer of the
World."
He marched first against the Germanic Juthungi, who had invaded the province of Raetia and thus
threatened Italy. Aurelian forced the barbarians into a retreat and routed them on the Danube. The
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