THE SCENE: Marcus Antonius was one of rome’s greatest emperors, ruling as a warrior-philosopher and caring deeply about his people. His adoptive brother, Lucius Verus, was technically co-emperor, but seems to have been more focused on parties than presiding.
THE TEXT: He is also said to have played dice the whole night through, after he had taken up that vice in Syria; and to have been so much a rival of Caligula, Nero and Vitellius in bives that he used to wander about at night through the taverns and brothels, with his head covered with a common travelling-cap, carouse with cheap-jacks, and engage in brawls, concealing his identity; and often, people say, he returned after being beaten with his face bruised, and was recognized in the taverns although he had hidden himself. He also used to thrown the largest coins into cookshops and smash the cups with them. He loved the charioteers too, favoring the Green faction. Fairly frequently, as well, he held gladiatorial bouts at banquets, prolonging the dinners late into the night and falling asleep on the banqueting-couch, so that he would be lifted up with the covers and carried to his bedroom. He took a moderate amount of sleep and had an excellent digestion.
– The Augustan History, Julius Capitolinus, 4th Century AD
