A report on Seneca the Younger

Ancient bust of Seneca, part of the Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca
Modern statue of Seneca in Córdoba
Nero and Seneca, by Eduardo Barrón (1904). Museo del Prado
Manuel Domínguez Sánchez, The suicide of Seneca (1871), Museo del Prado
Lodovico Lana, Death of Seneca, National Gallery of Art
First page of the Naturales Quaestiones, made for the Catalan-Aragonese court
Woodcut illustration of the suicide of Seneca and the attempted suicide of his wife Pompeia Paulina
Naturales quaestiones, 1522
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

Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature.

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

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Bust, Musei Capitolini, Rome

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.

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

Bust, Musei Capitolini, Rome
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
Bust of Nero, National Museum in Oslo
Bust of Nero as pharaoh
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's Torches, Henryk Siemiradzki

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.

Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, in the Farnese collection, Naples – Photo by Paolo Monti, 1969

Stoicism

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School of Hellenistic religion founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC. It is a philosophy of personal eudaemonic virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that the practice of virtue is both necessary and sufficient to achieve eudaimonia—flourishing by means of living an ethical life.

School of Hellenistic religion founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC. It is a philosophy of personal eudaemonic virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that the practice of virtue is both necessary and sufficient to achieve eudaimonia—flourishing by means of living an ethical life.

Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, in the Farnese collection, Naples – Photo by Paolo Monti, 1969
Antisthenes, founder of the Cynic school of philosophy
Bust of Seneca
Chrysippus
Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic Roman emperor
Justus Lipsius, founder of Neostoicism

Many Stoics—such as Seneca and Epictetus—emphasized that because "virtue is sufficient for happiness", a sage would be emotionally resilient to misfortune.

Bust, Naples National Archaeological Museum

Claudius

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

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

Bust, Naples National Archaeological Museum
Bust of Claudius' mother, Antonia Minor
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
Messalina holding her son Britannicus, Louvre
The Death of Messalina by Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse, 1916
Sculpture of Agrippina crowning her young son Nero (c. AD 54–59)
Claudius depicted as the Roman god Jupiter
The Claudian letters
A statue of Claudius in the Wesgha tal-Muzew, Mdina, Malta

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).

Mask of Dionysus. Greek, Myrina, 2nd century BCE.

Tragedy

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Genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character.

Genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character.

Mask of Dionysus. Greek, Myrina, 2nd century BCE.
Scene from the tragedy Iphigenia in Tauris by Euripides. Roman fresco in Pompeii.
Edwin Austin Abbey (1852–1911) King Lear, Cordelia's Farewell
French actor Talma as Nero in Racine's ''Britannicus.

From its origins in the theatre of ancient Greece 2500 years ago, from which there survives only a fraction of the work of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, as well as many fragments from other poets, and the later Roman tragedies of Seneca; through its singular articulations in the works of Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, Jean Racine, and Friedrich Schiller to the more recent naturalistic tragedy of Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg; Samuel Beckett's modernist meditations on death, loss and suffering; Heiner Müller postmodernist reworkings of the tragic canon, tragedy has remained an important site of cultural experimentation, negotiation, struggle, and change.

Caligula

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The third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 to 41.

The third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 to 41.

Marble portrait of Caligula from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Germanicus, the father of Caligula
Portrait of Agrippina the Elder, Caligula's mother
Caligula Depositing the Ashes of his Mother and Brother in the Tomb of his Ancestors, by Eustache Le Sueur, 1647
A denarius of Gaius Caligula. Caption: C. CAESAR AVG. GERM. P. M. TR. POT.
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.
Map of the Roman Empire and neighboring states during the reign of Gaius Caligula (37–41 AD).
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.
Caligula and Roma Cameo depicting Caligula and Roma, a personification of Rome
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

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.

A bust at the National Museum, Warsaw

Agrippina the Younger

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

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

A bust at the National Museum, Warsaw
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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)

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

Statue of Messalina holding her son Britannicus, at the Louvre

Messalina

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The third wife of Roman emperor Claudius.

The third wife of Roman emperor Claudius.

Statue of Messalina holding her son Britannicus, at the Louvre
Messalina in a coin minted in Crete, c. AD 42
A bust believed to be of Messalina, in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
Messalina guides the dragon chariot in the triumph of Claudius
Messalina working in a brothel: etching by Agostino Carracci, late 16th century
Peder Severin Krøyer, Messalina, 1881, Gothenburg Museum of Art
Messalina, Eugène Cyrille Brunet (1884), Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes
Hans Makart's painting of Charlotte Wolter in Adolf Wilbrandt's tragedy, Arria und Messalina

Within the first year of Claudius' reign, his niece Julia Livilla, only recently recalled from banishment upon the death of her brother Caligula, was exiled again on charges of adultery with Seneca the Younger.

Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus

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Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus or Gallio (Γαλλιων, Galliōn; c. 5 BC – c. AD 65) was a Roman senator and brother of the famous writer Seneca.

Seneca the Elder

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

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

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.

15th-century illuminated manuscript, Laurentian Library

Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium

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15th-century illuminated manuscript, Laurentian Library
15th-century illuminated manuscript, Laurentian Library
Incipit page of the first printed edition of the Epistles in the "Tuscan" i.e. Italian version (1494).
French edition, 1887

The Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Latin for "Moral Letters to Lucilius"), also known as the Moral Epistles and Letters from a Stoic, is a collection of 124 letters that Seneca the Younger wrote at the end of his life, during his retirement, after he had worked for the Emperor Nero for more than ten years.