Seneca
4 BC–65 AD 4 entries
Biography
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Younger, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist. He was born in Corduba, in Roman Spain, and was brought to Rome as a child, where he studied rhetoric and philosophy. Exiled to Corsica by the emperor Claudius, he was recalled in 49 to become tutor to the young Nero. When Nero became emperor, Seneca was for some years one of the most powerful men in Rome and grew very rich.
His Moral Letters to Lucilius and essays such as On the Shortness of Life and On Anger give practical advice on living wisely and facing death calmly. He also wrote tragedies that strongly influenced the theatre of the Renaissance. As Nero’s rule grew cruel he withdrew from public life, and in 65 he was ordered to take his own life after being accused of taking part in a plot against the emperor.