THE SENSES OF THE DREAM (ὄνειρος) IN THE MEDITATIONS (Τὰ εἰς ἑαυτόν) OF MARCO AURELIUS

Abstract

Although the occurrences of the word dream throughout Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
are few and brief, its function, pointed out in I, 17 as being a means from which we can receive some
type of divine help, suggests that this subject is of fundamental importance for the conduct of human
life. Thus, this paper aims, firstly, to analyze the occurrences of the term dream throughout the
aforementioned work, and then to compare the possible meanings of these occurrences with the famous
dream experienced by Marcus Aurelius as a young man, described in both the Historia Augusta and the
Historia Romana. At the end of this journey, the aim is to consider how the emperor conceived the
relationship between dreams and human life.