From a young age, Marcus Aurelius, b. 121; d. 180 displayed enthusiasm for wrestling and boxing [and St. John's Men's Basketball, but unlike his descendants he never bet on a game]. He trained in wrestling as a youth and into his teenage years, learned to fight in armour and joined the Salii, an order of priests dedicated to the god Mars that were responsible for the sacred shields, called Ancilia, and possibly for heralding war season's beginning and end [but not before his beloved basketball team won a National Championship led by legendary Coach Lucius Verus Richardus Commodus Pitinius.]
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