A report on Sextus Afranius Burrus, Seneca the Younger and Agrippina the Younger

Ancient bust of Seneca, part of the Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca

Nero and Seneca, by Eduardo Barrón (1904). Museo del Prado

During the reign of Caligula, coins like the one pictured here were issued depicting his three sisters, Drusilla, Livilla, and Agrippina the Younger.

Manuel Domínguez Sánchez, The suicide of Seneca (1871), Museo del Prado

Messalina holding her son Britannicus (Louvre)

Lodovico Lana, Death of Seneca, National Gallery of Art

Coins of Agrippina and Claudius as the de facto co-rulers of the empire

First page of the Naturales Quaestiones, made for the Catalan-Aragonese court

Marble bust of Nero. Antiquarium of the Palatine.

Woodcut illustration of the suicide of Seneca and the attempted suicide of his wife Pompeia Paulina

Sculpture of Agrippina crowning her young son Nero (c. AD 54 –59)

Gustav Wertheimer: The Shipwreck of Agrippina (1874)

Plato, Seneca, and Aristotle in a medieval manuscript illustration (c. 1325–35)

The "Pseudo-Seneca", a Roman bust found at Herculaneum, one of a series of similar sculptures known since the Renaissance, once identified as Seneca. Now commonly identified as Hesiod

"Seneca", ancient hero of the modern Córdoba; this architectural roundel in Seville is based on the "Pseudo-Seneca" (illustration above)

Baroque marble imaginary portrait bust of Seneca, by an anonymous sculptor of the 17th century. Museo del Prado

Sextus Afranius Burrus (born AD 1 in Vasio, Gallia Narbonensis; died AD 62) was a prefect of the Praetorian Guard and was, together with Seneca the Younger, an advisor to the Roman emperor Nero, making him a very powerful man in the early years of Nero's reign.

- Sextus Afranius Burrus

Agrippina the Younger chose him as Prefect in 51 to secure her son Nero's place as emperor after the death of Claudius.

- Sextus Afranius Burrus

When Nero became emperor in 54, Seneca became his advisor and, together with the praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus, provided competent government for the first five years of Nero's reign.

- Seneca the Younger

In 41 AD, Claudius became emperor, and Seneca was accused by the new empress Messalina of adultery with Julia Livilla, sister to Caligula and Agrippina.

- Seneca the Younger

Among the victims of Messalina's intrigues were Agrippina's surviving sister Livilla, who was charged with having adultery with Seneca the Younger.

- Agrippina the Younger

That same year she appointed Sextus Afranius Burrus as the head of the Praetorian Guard, replacing the previous head of the Praetorian Guard, Rufrius Crispinus.

- Agrippina the Younger

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Nero

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The fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68.

An aureus of Nero and his mother, Agrippina, c. 54. Caption: NERONIS CAES MATER AGRIPP. AVG. DIVI CLAVD. / NERONI CLAVD. DIVI F. CAES. AVG. GERM. IMP. TR. P. – EX SC

Emperor Nero being instructed by Seneca, work by Spanish sculptor Eduardo Barrón

Coin of Nero and Poppaea Sabina Billon tetradrachm of Alexandria, Egypt, 25 mm, 12.51 gr. Obverse: radiate head right; ΝΕΡΩ. ΚΛΑΥ. ΚΑΙΣ. ΣΕΒ. ΓΕΡ. ΑΥ. Reverse: draped bust of Poppaea right; ΠΟΠΠΑΙΑ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΗ. Year LI = 10 = 63–64.

The Fire of Rome by Hubert Robert (1785)

A marble bust of Nero, Antiquarium of the Palatine.

An 1815 illustration of the alleged tomb of Nero; actually tomb of proconsul Caius Vibius Marianus.

Apotheosis of Nero, c. after 68. Artwork portraying Nero rising to divine status after his death.

Head of Nero from an oversized statue. Glyptothek, Munich

A circa 18th century woodcut of the historian Josephus (c. 37–100) who accused other historians of slandering Nero.

Nero was born at Antium in AD 37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus.

In the early years of his reign Nero was advised and guided by his mother Agrippina, his tutor Seneca the Younger, and his praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus, but he soon sought to rule independently and to rid himself of restraining influences.