Lecture: Marcus Aurelius as self-help guru
New life for Marcus Aurelius' classic Self-Contemplations.
Mikael Johansson, associate professor of ancient Greek at the University of Gothenburg, lectures on his translation of Marcus Aurelius' Self-Contemplations.
In Self-Contemplations, we meet an aging Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome from 161 to 180. The emperor, who throughout his adult life was a follower of Stoicism, shows in the work, which consists of hastily written notes in almost diary form, how he had to work on himself and his thoughts in order to be able to stand firm on the demanding outlook on life. Being a Stoic was, quite simply, difficult. The texts are small notes about life, death, human dignity and the great uncertainty. The fact that they were written by the most powerful man of his time only emerges sporadically.
Mikael Johansson's translation of Self-Contemplations was published by Bokförlaget Daidalos in 2022, just over one hundred and ten years after the last translation into Swedish.
Registration
Limited number of places. Registration via email lagerhuset.bibliotek@kultur.gotbeorg.se, phone 031-365 80 11 or on site at the library.
