Antoninus Pius

ANTONINUS PIUS (Imp. Caesar Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Aug. Pius), ROMAN EMPEROR. - Born in the year 86 A.D. at Lanuvium, he passed through the entire career of public offices until he reached the empire in 138; he was gentle, upright, wise, industrious; he was surnamed Pius for having defended the memory of Hadrian. He maintained good relations with the senate, was generous to the people; he loved peace and order, and had many public works built. He was greatly attached to the traditional religion, but showed himself tolerant also toward other cults and in particular tempered the anti-Jewish severities of his predecessor; he was compared to the mythical lawgiver of the Roman religion, Numa Pompilius.

Under his reign Christian martyrs were not lacking, the best known of whom is the bishop Polycarp of Smyrna, put to death by the will of the people, as appears from the letter, certainly authentic, written by that Church with moving vividness of description. On the other hand, a document reported by Eusebius (Hist. eccl., IV, 13) concerning A. is very probably not authentic, namely a letter to the assembly of the province of Asia in which the emperor, following the example of his predecessors, would recommend tolerance toward the Christians. The phrases occurring in it are too benevolent for the new religion; and moreover, the body to which the letter is addressed had no competence in the matter. The act nevertheless remains a significant indication of the state of mind of the Christian communities toward the emperors who showed understanding and a sense of justice. A. died on 7 March 161 and was soon deified.