A report on Seneca the Younger and Caligula

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

Marble portrait of Caligula from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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

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

Portrait of Agrippina the Elder, Caligula's mother

Lodovico Lana, Death of Seneca, National Gallery of Art

Caligula Depositing the Ashes of his Mother and Brother in the Tomb of his Ancestors, by Eustache Le Sueur, 1647

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

A denarius of Gaius Caligula. Caption: C. CAESAR AVG. GERM. P. M. TR. POT.

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

The Vatican Obelisk was first brought from Egypt to Rome by Caligula. It was the centerpiece of a large racetrack he built.

The hull of one of two ships recovered from Lake Nemi during the 1930s. This massive vessel served as an elaborate floating palace for the Emperor.

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

Map of the Roman Empire and neighboring states during the reign of Gaius Caligula (37–41 AD).

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

Ruins of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in the Forum Romanum. Ancient resources as well as recent archaeological evidence suggest that, at one point, Caligula had the palace extended to annex this structure.

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

Caligula and Roma Cameo depicting Caligula and Roma, a personification of Rome

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

Roman sestertius depicting Caligula, c. AD 38. The reverse shows Caligula's three sisters, Agrippina, Drusilla and Julia Livilla, with whom Caligula was rumoured to have carried on incestuous relationships. Caption: C. CAESAR AVG. GERMANICVS PON. M. TR. POT. / AGRIPPINA DRVSILLA IVLIA S. C.

Bust of Caligula from Palazzo Massimo in Rome

Fanciful Renaissance depiction of Caligula

Marble bust of Caligula with traces of original paint beside a plaster replica trying to recreate the polychrome traditions of ancient sculpture.

Quadrans celebrating the abolition of a tax in AD 38 by Caligula.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Woods|first1=David|title=Caligula's Quadrans|journal=The Numismatic Chronicle|issn=0078-2696|year=2010|volume=170|pages=99–103|jstor=42678887}}</ref> The obverse of the coin contains a picture of a Pileus which symbolizes the liberation of the people from the tax burden. Caption: C. CAESAR DIVI AVG. PRON[EPOS] (great-grandson of) AVG. / PON. M., TR. P. III, P. P., COS. DES. RCC. (probably Res Civium Conservatae, i.e. the interests of citizens have been preserved)

Roman gold coins excavated in Pudukottai, India, examples of Indo-Roman trade during the period. One coin of Caligula (AD 37–41), and two coins of Nero (AD 54–68). British Museum. Caption: C. CAESAR AVG. PON. M., TR. POT. III, COS. III. - NERO CAESAR. AVG. IMP. - NERO CAESAR AVG. IMP.

Bust of Caligula from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

The Assassination of the Emperor Caligula, by Lazzaro Baldi

Cassius Dio relates a story that Caligula was so offended by Seneca's oratorical success in the Senate that he ordered him to commit suicide.

- Seneca the Younger

A brief famine of unknown extent occurred, perhaps caused by this financial crisis, but Suetonius claims it resulted from Caligula's seizure of public carriages; according to Seneca, grain imports were disrupted because Caligula re-purposed grain boats for a pontoon bridge.

- Caligula

7 related topics with Alpha

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.

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.

His mother Agrippina was the sister of the third Roman emperor Caligula.

Agrippina the Younger

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Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius.

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

Messalina holding her son Britannicus (Louvre)

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

Marble bust of Nero. Antiquarium of the Palatine.

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

Gustav Wertheimer: The Shipwreck of Agrippina (1874)

Agrippina's brother Caligula became emperor in 37 AD. After Caligula was assassinated in 41 AD, Germanicus' brother Claudius took the throne.

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

Bust, Naples National Archaeological Museum

Claudius

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The fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54.

A coin of Herod of Chalcis, showing him with his brother Agrippa of Judaea crowning Claudius. British Museum.

Aureus of Claudius, struck at the Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, dated 41–42. The depiction on the reverse meant to commemorate the "reception of the emperor" (imperator receptus) at the Praetorian Camp and the protection the Praetorian Guard afforded Claudius in the days following the assassination of Caligula. Issued over a number of years in both gold and silver, these type of coins were struck to serve as part of the annual military payments Claudius had promised the Guard in return for their role in raising him to the throne. Caption: TI. CLAVD. CAESAR AVG. P. M., TR. P. / IMPER. RECEPT.

Claudius issued this denarius type to emphasize his clemency after Caligula's assassination. The depiction of the goddess Pax-Nemesis, representing subdued vengeance, would be used on the coins of many later emperors. Caption: TI. CLAVD. CAESAR. AVG. P. M., TR. P. X. P. P., IMP. XVIII / PACI AVGVSTAE Pax-Nemesis standing right holding caduceus over serpent.

Bronze head of Claudius found in the River Alde at Rendham, near Saxmundham, Suffolk (British Museum). Potentially taken from the Temple of Claudius in Colonia Victricensis during the Boudican revolt.

The Porta Maggiore in Rome: remains of aqueducts Aqua Claudia and Aqua Anio Novus

Portrait of Claudius, Altes Museum, Berlin

The Death of Messalina by Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse, 1916

Claudius depicted as the Roman god Jupiter

A statue of Claudius in the Wesgha tal-Muzew, Mdina, Malta

As he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, he was ostracized by his family and was excluded from public office until his consulship (which was shared with his nephew, Caligula, in 37).

Since Claudius was the first emperor proclaimed on the initiative of the Praetorian Guard instead of the Senate, his repute suffered at the hands of commentators (such as Seneca).

Julia Livilla

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Julia Livilla (c.

During the reign of Caligula, coins were issued depicting his three sisters, Agrippina, Drusilla and Livilla

18 – c. 41 CE) was the youngest child of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder and the youngest sister of the Emperor Caligula.

Later in 41, she fell out of favour with Messalina (Claudius's third wife) and was charged by her paternal uncle Claudius for having adultery with Seneca the Younger.

Seneca the Elder

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Roman writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Corduba, Hispania.

Seneca lived through the reigns of three significant emperors; Augustus (ruled 27 BC – 14 AD), Tiberius (ruled 14–37 AD) and Caligula (ruled 37–41 AD).

He was the father of Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus, best known as a Proconsul of Achaia; his second son was the dramatist and Stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger (Lucius), who was tutor of Nero, and his third son, Marcus Annaeus Mela, became the father of the poet Lucan.

Roman Empire

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The post-Republican period of ancient Rome.

The Roman Empire in AD 117 at its greatest extent, at the time of Trajan's death (with its vassals in pink)

The Augustus of Prima Porta
(early 1st century AD)

The Barbarian Invasions consisted of the movement of (mainly) ancient Germanic peoples into Roman territory. Even though northern invasions took place throughout the life of the Empire, this period officially began in the 4th century and lasted for many centuries, during which the western territory was under the dominion of foreign northern rulers, a notable one being Charlemagne. Historically, this event marked the transition between classical antiquity and the Middle Ages.

The cities of the Roman world in the Imperial Period. Data source: Hanson, J. W. (2016), Cities database, (OXREP databases). Version 1.0. (link).

A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, overlooking Crag Lough

A 5th-century papyrus showing a parallel Latin-Greek text of a speech by Cicero

Bilingual Latin-Punic inscription at the theatre in Leptis Magna, Roman Africa (present-day Libya)

A multigenerational banquet depicted on a wall painting from Pompeii (1st century AD)

Citizen of Roman Egypt (Fayum mummy portrait)

Dressing of a priestess or bride, Roman fresco from Herculaneum, Italy (30–40 AD)

Slave holding writing tablets for his master (relief from a 4th-century sarcophagus)

Cinerary urn for the freedman Tiberius Claudius Chryseros and two women, probably his wife and daughter

Fragment of a sarcophagus depicting Gordian III and senators (3rd century)

Condemned man attacked by a leopard in the arena (3rd-century mosaic from Tunisia)

Forum of Gerasa (Jerash in present-day Jordan), with columns marking a covered walkway (stoa) for vendor stalls, and a semicircular space for public speaking

Reconstructed statue of Augustus as Jove, holding scepter and orb (first half of 1st century AD).

Antoninus Pius (reigned 138–161), wearing a toga (Hermitage Museum)

The Roman empire under Hadrian (ruled 117–138) showing the location of the Roman legions deployed in 125 AD

Relief panel from Trajan's Column in Rome, showing the building of a fort and the reception of a Dacian embassy

The Pula Arena in Croatia is one of the largest and most intact of the remaining Roman amphitheatres.

Personification of the River Nile and his children, from the Temple of Serapis and Isis in Rome (1st century AD)

A green Roman glass cup unearthed from an Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD) tomb in Guangxi, southern China; the earliest Roman glassware found in China was discovered in a Western Han tomb in Guangzhou, dated to the early 1st century BC, and ostensibly came via the maritime route through the South China Sea

Solidus issued under Constantine II, and on the reverse Victoria, one of the last deities to appear on Roman coins, gradually transforming into an angel under Christian rule

Landscape resulting from the ruina montium mining technique at Las Médulas, Spain, one of the most important gold mines in the Roman Empire

The Tabula Peutingeriana (Latin for "The Peutinger Map") an Itinerarium, often assumed to be based on the Roman cursus publicus, the network of state-maintained roads.

A map of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a Greco-Roman Periplus

Workers at a cloth-processing shop, in a painting from the fullonica of Veranius Hypsaeus in Pompeii

Roman hunters during the preparations, set-up of traps, and in-action hunting near Tarraco

Construction on the Flavian Amphitheatre, more commonly known as the Colosseum (Italy), began during the reign of Vespasian.

The Pont du Gard aqueduct, which crosses the river Gardon in southern France, is on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites.

Cityscape from the Villa Boscoreale (60s AD)

Aquae Sulis in Bath, England: architectural features above the level of the pillar bases are a later reconstruction.

Public toilets (latrinae) from Ostia Antica

Reconstructed peristyle garden based on the House of the Vettii

Birds and fountain within a garden setting, with oscilla (hanging masks) above, in a painting from Pompeii

Bread stall, from a Pompeiian wall painting

An Ostian taberna for eating and drinking; the faded painting over the counter pictured eggs, olives, fruit and radishes.

Still life on a 2nd-century Roman mosaic

Wall painting depicting a sports riot at the amphitheatre of Pompeii, which led to the banning of gladiator combat in the town

The Zliten mosaic, from a dining room in present-day Libya, depicts a series of arena scenes: from top, musicians playing a Roman tuba, a water pipe organ and two horns; six pairs of gladiators with two referees; four beast fighters; and three convicts condemned to the beasts

Boys and girls playing ball games (2nd-century relief from the Louvre)

So-called "bikini girls" mosaic from the Villa del Casale, Roman Sicily, 4th century

Stone game board from Aphrodisias: boards could also be made of wood, with deluxe versions in costly materials such as ivory; game pieces or counters were bone, glass, or polished stone, and might be coloured or have markings or images

Women from the wall painting at the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii

Claudius wearing an early Imperial toga (see a later, more structured toga above), and the pallium as worn by a priest of Serapis, sometimes identified as the emperor Julian

The Wedding of Zephyrus and Chloris (54–68 AD, Pompeian Fourth Style) within painted architectural panels from the Casa del Naviglio

The bronze Drunken Satyr, excavated at Herculaneum and exhibited in the 18th century, inspired an interest among later sculptors in similar "carefree" subjects.

On the Ludovisi sarcophagus, an example of the battle scenes favoured during the Crisis of the Third Century, the "writhing and highly emotive" Romans and Goths fill the surface in a packed, anti-classical composition

The Primavera of Stabiae, perhaps the goddess Flora

The Triumph of Neptune floor mosaic from Africa Proconsularis (present-day Tunisia), celebrating agricultural success with allegories of the Seasons, vegetation, workers and animals viewable from multiple perspectives in the room (latter 2nd century)

Actor dressed as a king and two muses. Fresco from Herculaneum, 30–40 AD

All-male theatrical troupe preparing for a masked performance, on a mosaic from the House of the Tragic Poet

Pride in literacy was displayed in portraiture through emblems of reading and writing, as in this example of a couple from Pompeii (Portrait of Paquius Proculo).

Reconstruction of a writing tablet: the stylus was used to inscribe letters into the wax surface for drafts, casual letterwriting, and schoolwork, while texts meant to be permanent were copied onto papyrus.

A teacher with two students, as a third arrives with his loculus, a writing case that would contain pens, ink pot, and a sponge to correct errors

Mosaic from Pompeii depicting the Academy of Plato

Portrait of a literary woman from Pompeii (ca. 50 AD)

A fresco in Pompeii depicting a poet (thought to be Euphorion) and a female reading a diptych

Statue in Constanța, Romania (the ancient colony Tomis), commemorating Ovid's exile

Brescia Casket, an ivory box with Biblical imagery (late 4th century)

Silver cup, from the Boscoreale Treasure (early 1st century AD)

Finely decorated Gallo-Roman terra sigillata bowl

Gold earrings with gemstones, 3rd century

Glass cage cup from the Rhineland, 4th century

Dionysus (Bacchus) with long torch sitting on a throne, with Helios (Sol), Aphrodite (Venus) and other gods. Fresco from Pompeii.

A Roman priest, his head ritually covered with a fold of his toga, extends a patera in a gesture of libation (2nd–3rd century)

Statuettes representing Roman and Gallic deities, for personal devotion at private shrines

thumb|upright=0.6|The Pompeii Lakshmi, an ivory statuette from the Indian subcontinent found in the ruins of Pompeii

Relief from the Arch of Titus in Rome depicting a menorah and other spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem carried in Roman triumph.

This funerary stele from the 3rd century is among the earliest Christian inscriptions, written in both Greek and Latin: the abbreviation D.M. at the top refers to the Di Manes, the traditional Roman spirits of the dead, but accompanies Christian fish symbolism.

The Pantheon in Rome, a Roman temple originally built under Augustus and later rebuilt under Hadrian in the 2nd century, dedicated to Rome's polytheistic religion before its conversion into a Catholic church in the 7th century

The Julio-Claudian dynasty lasted for four more emperors—Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero—before it yielded in 69 AD to the strife-torn Year of Four Emperors, from which Vespasian emerged as victor.

Seneca assumes that anyone involved in commerce needs access to credit.

Baiae

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Ancient Roman town situated on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples and now in the comune of Bacoli.

"Temple of Mercury" which has remarkable acoustic properties

According to Suetonius, in AD 39, Baiae was the location for a stunt by the eccentric emperor Caligula to answer the astrologer Thrasyllus's prediction that he had "no more chance of becoming emperor than of riding a horse across the Gulf of Baiae".

In the 1st century, "Baiae and Vice" formed one of the moral epistles written by Seneca the Younger; he described it as a "vortex of luxury" and a "harbour of vice" where girls went to play at being girls, old women as girls and some men as girls according to a first century BC wag.