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MENIPPUS: Cynic philosopher (early third century B.C.) from Gadara in Syria. He features as a character in many of the satirical dialogues of Lucian. (6.47)

MONIMUS: Fourth-century B.C. Cynic philosopher and student of DIOGENES. (2.15)

NERO: Roman emperor (54–68); his name was a byword for tyranny and cruelty. (3.16)

ORIGANION: Unknown; most likely an imperial slave or freedman. (6.47)

PANTHEIA: Mistress of Lucius VERUS, mentioned in several works by the satirist Lucian. (8.37)

PERDICCAS: King of Macedon (c. 450–413 B.C.). (11.25)

PERGAMOS: Evidently an associate of Lucius VERUS, perhaps a slave or lover. (8.37)

PHALARIS: Sixth-century B.C. dictator of Agrigento in Sicily, notorious for his cruelty. (3.16)

PHILIP: King of Macedon (359–336 B.C.) and father of ALEXANDER THE GREAT. (9.29, 10.27)

PHILISTION: Unknown, most likely an imperial slave or freedman, though a contemporary mime writer of this name is also known. (6.47)

PHOCION: Athenian general and statesman of the fourth century B.C. He was eventually sentenced to death for treason, and before his execution supposedly asked his son to forgive the Athenians for condemning him. (11.13)

PHOEBUS: Unknown, most likely an imperial slave or freedman. (6.47)

PLATO: Athenian philosopher (c. 429–347 B.C.), disciple of SOCRATES and author of philosophical dialogues in which the latter is portrayed debating with his disciples and other contemporary figures. The most famous of these is perhaps the Republic, in which he envisions an ideal society. (7.48, 9.29, 10.23; quoted 7.44–46)

POMPEY: Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (106–48 B.C.), Roman politician and general who rose to power in the 60s on the basis of a series of successful campaigns in the East. His brief political alliance with Julius CAESAR gave way to mutual rivalry and suspicion. When Caesar’s march on Rome precipitated civil war in 49, Pompey led the senatorial resistance. Following his defeat at the battle of Pharsalus, he fled to Egypt, where he was murdered. (3.3, 8.3; family 8.31)

PYTHAGORAS: Greek mathematician, philosopher, and mystic of the late sixth century B.C. He founded a religious community in southern Italy whose members were known especially for their devotion to music and geometry. (6.47; compare 11.27)

RUSTICUS: Quintus Junius Rusticus, twice consul and city prefect of Rome in the mid-160s. His influence on Marcus is attested by the Historia Augusta, although the reference to him in 1.17 suggests that their relationship had its ups and downs. (1.7, 1.17)

SATYRON: Unknown, though evidently a contemporary of Marcus. (10.31)

SCIPIO: Either Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (c. 235–183 B.C.), who defeated Hannibal in the Second Punic War, or his grandson by adoption, Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus (185/4–129 B.C.), the conqueror of Carthage in the Third Punic War. (4.33)

SECUNDA: Wife of MAXIMUS. (8.25)

SEVERUS (1): Lucius Catilius Severus, Marcus’s great-grandfather. (1.4)

SEVERUS (2): Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus from Pompeiopolis in Asia Minor, consul in 146; his son (perhaps the Severus of 10.31) married one of Marcus’s daughters. He was an adherent of the Peripatetic school, which traced its heritage back to Aristotle. (1.14)

SEXTUS: Sextus of Chaeronea, Stoic philosopher, teacher of both Marcus and Lucius VERUS, and nephew of the great biographer and antiquarian Plutarch. (1.9)

SILVANUS: Perhaps Lamia Silvanus, a son-in-law of Marcus. (10.31)

SOCRATES: Athenian philosopher (469–399 B.C.), teacher of PLATO. He spent most of his life in his native city, and served with distinction in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta. Although associated with several members of the aristocratic junta that ruled Athens after its defeat in 404, he refused to participate in their atrocities. He was executed by the Athenians on a charge of impiety following the restoration of democracy; Plato’s Apology purports to give his speech at the trial. (1.16, 3.3, 3.6, 6.47, 7.19, 7.66, 8.3, 11.23, 11.25, 11.28, 11.39)

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