I will argue that a careful reading of the historical evidence reveals that it was only within the first two or three years of Commodus's death that the new Emperor Septimius Severus ( 211 CE) was presenting himself as a second Marcus Aurelius - i.e. a benevolent 'philosopher king.' Severus went out of his way in the early days of his rule to fuel this expectation (as we will demonstrate below from a few passages in the Roman historian Herodian) and Clement's 'pitch' in the Stromateis that Alexandrian Christianity was wholly compatible with Marcus Aurelius's principles only makes sense in this period.
Herodian makes absolutely clear that Commodus had not yet killed most of the educated men whom Marcus Aurelius had set up as guardians for his young heir at the time of his death - "Commodus wanted all the elder statesmen and the advisers appointed for him by his father, those who still survived, to be put to death, for he was ashamed to have these revered men witness his disgraceful actions" (Herodian Histories 1.17) This helps explain why the Pedagogue, a work universally acknowledged to have been written during Commodus's reign, reworks large amounts of material from Marcus Aurelius's 'spiritual grandfather' Musonius Rufus.
Herodian also makes clear that once Commodus is assassinated and Pertinax is chosen as his successor, that the new Emperor made absolutely explicit that he wanted nothing less than to restore the former glory of the age of Marcus Aurelius, undoubtedly through a rule that was characterized by his 'practical Stoic philosophy.' The rule of Pertinax is the earliest possible period that the Stromateis could have been composed. One may even suspect that Book One was still written during Pertinax's short rule. Nevertheless it is important for us to demonstrate that Septimius Severus was riding the same wave of popular hope of a restoration of the benevolent rule of Marcus Aurelius into 194 CE.
Two citations will suffice to demonstrate this. The first is Severus's initial speech (spring 193 CE) to the troops under his control in Illyria to justify his attempt to seize the throne in Rome:
I must not allow the Roman empire to lie helpless, that empire which, to the end of Marcus' reign, was administered with reverence and appeared to be august and awesome. Under Commodus, however, the empire underwent a change, and yet, even if it did suffer somewhat at his hands because of his youth, all was forgiven him because of his noble birth and the memory of his father. And the truth is that there was more reason to pity than to despise him for his errors, in that we attributed most of what happened not to him personally but to the parasites who swarmed around him and to his advisers and accomplices in his irregular acts. But when the empire came into the hands of that revered elder statesman Pertinax, the memory of whose courage and service to the state is still firmly fixed in our hearts, the praetorians not only did not protect their emperor, but went so far as to murder that illustrious man. [Herodian 2.12]and then again in June 193 CE as recorded by Herodian to the people of Rome:
On the following day he went to the Senate and addressed all the senators in a speech that was very mild in tone and full of promises of good things for the future. Greeting them collectively and individually, he told them that he had come to avenge the murder of Pertinax and assured them that his reign would mark the reintroduction of senatorial rule. No man would be put to death or have his property confiscated without a trial; he would not tolerate informers; he would bring unlimited prosperity to his subjects; he intended to imitate Marcus' reign in every way; and he would assume not only the name but also the manner and approach of Pertinax. By this speech he won a good opinion for himself among most of the senators, and they believed his promises. But some of the older senators knew the true character of the man, and said privately that he was indeed a man of great cunning, who knew how to manage things shrewdly; they further said that he was very skillful at deceit and at feigning anything and everything; and, moreover, he always did what was of benefit and profit to his own interests. The truth of these observations was later demonstrated by what the man actually did. [ibid 2.14]I think if we factor in the distance between Alexandria and Rome and the amount of time that it took news to travel, a date of early 194 CE is the likely completion date for the Stromateis. Clement, and his Alexandrian Church was clearly enthusiastic of the possibilities that Severus's new rule afforded. I would would even go one step further and make the case that continuing to fan the flames for a return of Marcus Aurelius after it was obvious to everyone that Severus was the furthest thing from a 'philosopher king' might have proved dangerous for Clement (i.e. it would have smacked of discontent).
If the Paedagogue was written before 190 CE and the Stromateis written shortly after 192 CE, when might the Letter to Theodore have been written? This is a very difficult question to answer given the fact that we have no idea who 'Theodore' was. Nevertheless, one clue is the specific terminology 'Carpocrates' or 'Carpocratians' which I am certain was not the name of a real person but a corruption of Celsus's original reference to 'the Harpocratians of Salome' (in reference to the Alexandrian sect associated with a certain Marcellina who was prominent in Rome in the late second century).
I have always sensed a connection with 'Marcia' the Christian concubine of Commodus. We are told that she was a part of the household of Marcus Aurelius's brother and joint ruler of the Empire, Lucius Verus, and ultimately became the mistress of the senator of Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus, the son of Marcus Aurelius's sister Annia Cornificia Faustina. After Marcus Aurelius's death Marcia and Quadratus were arrested for plotting the assassination of Commodus. Quadratus was executed but Marcia somehow managed to survive and enter the confidence of Commodus along with his servant Eclectus.
It is very difficult to determine Marcia's place of origin. However there are two paltry clues. The first is that we are told by the Philosophumena that while consulting with 'Pope' Victor, she was accompanied by her eunuch Christian teacher Hyacinthus. Christian eunuchs always suggest Alexandria to me. It is also worth noting that Herodian says that her companion (and later husband) Eclectus was Egyptian (Herodian Histories I.17) and a cubicularius which would suggest he was also a eunuch. The bit about Marcia and Eclectus getting married might be a later romantic embellishment.
What are the odds that a woman, said to be a Christian, would have two eunuchs on either side of her, one of whom is specifically identified as Christian, and the other Egyptian? Could Marcia (of the feminine Greek diminutive of the Roman name Marcus) be one and the same with Marcellina the Carpocratian (Marcellina being the Latin diminitutive of the feminine form of Marcus)? It's a tempting suggestion but unfortunately an unprovable assertion.
