Who is Seneca?
Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman philosopher and dramatist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He served as tutor to the emperor Nero and later became his advisor. Seneca’s philosophical works are of the Stoic school, emphasizing the importance of reason, learning, simplicity of lifestyle, and calm acceptance of suffering and death. Little is known of Seneca’s early life. He was the son of rhetorician Lucius Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Elder. Seneca the Younger was born sometime around 4 BCE and lived in Rome since early childhood. His family was from Corduba in modern day Spain. Seneca began studying Stoic philosophy in his youth under the tutors Attalos and Sotion. He spent some time in Egypt with his aunt, returning to Rome in 31 CE, where he campaigned to become a magistrate. Seneca clashed with the emperor Caligula and later with Messalina, the emperor Claudius’ wife, who ordered his exile to Corsica in 41. The philosopher spent his time in exile studying and writing.
