By Chicago Times Magazine 

September 19, 2024

Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius was born September 19, 86 AD and would reign as Emperor of Rome from 128 to 161. Antoninus was born into a senatorial family and served in a variety of positions during Emperor Hadrian’s reign. He married Hadrian’s niece Faustina, and shortly before his death, Hadrian adopted him as his son and successor. After his accession to the throne, Antoninus received the cognomen Pius, either because he forced the Senate to deify his adoptive father or because he saved senators sentenced to death by Hadrian in his later years. He was one of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty’s Five Good Emperors.

Antoninus constructed temples, theaters, and mausoleums, promoted the arts and sciences, and bestowed honors and financial rewards on rhetoric and philosophy teachers. When Antoninus became emperor, he made few changes at first, preserving as much as possible the arrangements instituted by Hadrian. According to epigraphic and prosopographical research, Antoninus’ imperial ruling team was centered on a group of closely knit senatorial families, the majority of whom were members of the priestly congregation for the cult of Hadrian, the sodales Hadrianales.

Feature image: Bust of Antoninus Pius (reign 138–161 CE), ca. 150 | Unknown Artist | Photo: Bibi Saint-Pol