Facts : 1 Convalescent in his villa at Tivoli, he selected Lucius Ceionius Commodus as his successor, and adopted him as his son
Facts : 2 The selection was done invitis omnibus, against the wishes of everyone ; its rationale is still unclear
Facts : 3 After a brief stationing on the Danube frontier, Aelius returned to Rome to make an address to the senate on the first day of 138
Facts : 4 The night before the speech, however, he grew ill, and died of a haemorrhage later in the day
Facts : 5 As part of Hadrian s terms, Antoninus adopted Marcus and Lucius Verus, the son of Lucius Aelius
Facts : 6 By this scheme, Lucius Verus, who was already Hadrian s adoptive grandson through his natural father, remained Hadrian s adoptive grandson through his new father
Facts : 7 The adoption of Marcus Aurelius was probably a suggestion of Antoninus himself, since the former was the nephew of the later s wife and would be his favorite son
Facts : 8 Marcus was appalled to learn that Hadrian would become his adoptive grandfather
Facts : 9 Only with reluctance did he move from his mother s house on the Caelian to Hadrian s private home
Facts : 10 At some time in 138, Hadrian requested in the senate that Marcus be exempt from the law barring him from becoming quaestor before his twenty-fourth birthday
Facts : 11 But for his adoption, he probably would have become triumvir monetalis, a highly regarded post involving token administration of the state mint; after that, he could have served as tribune with a legion, becoming the legion s nominal second-in-command
Facts : 12 Nonetheless, his biographer attests that his character remained unaffected: He still showed the same respect to his relations as he had when he was an ordinary citizen, and he was as thrifty and careful of his possessions as he had been when he lived in a private household
Facts : 13 Marcus would holiday in the town with the imperial family in the summer of 143
Facts : 14 Turner, The Bay of Baiae, with Apollo and Sybil, 1823) After a series of suicide attempts, all thwarted by Antoninus, Hadrian left for Baiae, a seaside resort on the Campanian coast
Facts : 15 His condition did not improve, and he abandoned the diet prescribed by his doctors, indulging himself in food and drink
Facts : 16 The succession to Antoninus was peaceful and stable: Antoninus kept Hadrian s nominees in office and appeased the senate, respecting its privileges and commuting the death sentences of men charged in Hadrian s last days
