Seneca the Younger

Sénèque - Cordoue

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Nerón y Séneca (Barrón)

Peter Paul Rubens - Dying Seneca

Manuel Domínguez Sánchez - El suicidio de Séneca

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SènecaQuestionibusNaturalibus

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Woodcut illustration of the suicide of Seneca and the attempted suicide of his wife Pompeia Paulina - Penn Provenance Project

Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC – AD 65), also known as Lucius Annaeus Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and playwright. He is best known for his moral essays and for his tragic plays. Seneca was born in Corduba (present-day Córdoba, Spain) in the Roman province of Hispania and was raised in Rome, where he was trained in rhetoric and philosophy.

Seneca's philosophical writings are primarily concerned with ethics and the practice of Stoicism, a philosophy that emphasizes reason, self-control, and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions. His works include the Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium (Moral Epistles to Lucilius), a collection of 124 letters dealing with moral issues, the De Beneficiis (On Benefits), which discusses the nature of favors and gratitude, and the De Brevitate Vitae (On the Shortness of Life), which argues that life is long if lived wisely.

As a playwright, Seneca is known for his contributions to Roman tragedy. His plays, such as Phaedra, Thyestes, and Medea, are characterized by their rhetorical brilliance and their exploration of the darker aspects of human nature. Despite their grim themes, Seneca's tragedies were influential in the development of Renaissance drama, particularly in the works of Elizabethan playwrights.

Seneca's political career was marked by his service as an advisor to the Emperor Nero. Initially, Seneca's guidance was credited with moderating Nero's rule, but as Nero's reign became increasingly tyrannical, Seneca's influence waned. In AD 65, Seneca was implicated in a conspiracy to assassinate Nero and was forced to commit suicide. His death has been dramatized by various writers and remains a subject of scholarly interest.

Seneca's legacy is complex. He has been criticized for the perceived gap between his philosophical teachings and his personal wealth and political involvement. However, his works have been widely read and admired for their eloquent expression of Stoic thought and their insights into human nature. Seneca's writings have influenced a diverse range of figures, from early Christian thinkers to Renaissance writers and modern philosophers.

Works

• Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium
• De Beneficiis
• De Brevitate Vitae
• Phaedra
• Thyestes
• Medea

See Also

• Stoicism
• Nero
• Philosophy in the Roman Empire