Life of Seneca: great thinker and philosopher of power

Seneca was one of the wisest and most inspiring men of Ancient Rome. Although he went down in history as a philosopher who reflected on ethics, the truth is that, above all, he was a man of power. He managed to deeply understand human nature in one of the most decadent times in history.

Like other great characters in history, Seneca was characterized by an insatiable curiosity which allowed him to immerse himself in different sciences, cultures and beliefs with great openness.

He studied the Egyptians with the same passion as the Romans and Greeks. Finally, He decided to follow the postulates of Stoicism and became one of the most representative figures of said school.

One of the great paradoxes of history and power is that Seneca was the teacher of someone who could be his opposite: the emperor Nero. Furthermore, it was precisely his pupil who finally sentenced him to death.

Classical Antiquity has given us an abundant legacy of literary and philosophical works that, to this day, continue to capture our attention. Of all the Latin texts that are believed to have been written, an extremely low percentage has reached us, but enough to bring us closer to some authors as interesting as Seneca. In this article, we invite you to discover one of the most brilliant thinkers of Antiquity.

Seneca’s childhood

Although there is no complete certainty, everything seems to indicate that Seneca was born in what is now Córdoba (Spain), in the year IV before our era.. He was a sickly child, afflicted by asthma to the extreme. His father was a procurator of Rome and also a famous orator and rhetorician.

One of the curious facts about the life of this great philosopher is that he had two brothers. Both, along with Seneca, were important men in their time, but all three ended up committing suicide At different times.

The truth is that Seneca was educated mainly by his mother’s half-sister in Rome. With this adoptive family, he also went to live in Alexandria where he learned a lot about Egyptian culture. In this period, he began to explore various sciences or knowledge. Later, it is believed that he spent time in Athens.

The power and its brilliance

In the year 31 AD, Seneca was appointed Roman magistrate. He had a brilliant performance and in a few years became the main speaker of the Senate. By then, the evil Caligula had ascended the throne, was greatly jealous of the speaker, and consequently sentenced him to death. Apparently, a courtesan persuaded him so that he would not carry out the sentence.

When Emperor Claudius came to power, his first wife, Messalina, intrigued to have him sentenced to death again. This sentence was commuted to exile. So, Seneca left for Corsica, an island where he remained in exile for 8 years..

Agrippina, Claudius’s second wife, interceded for him to be allowed to return, because he saw in Seneca an ally who would help him increase the prestige of the emperor. Furthermore, he thought that Seneca could contribute to achieving his great objective: making Nero emperor, even though he was not Claudius’ legitimate son.

Nero, the disciple

Finally, Agrippina’s plans came to fruition and turned out just as she expected. At the death of Claudius, Nero was barely 17 years old. At that moment, Seneca was appointed political advisor and minister, although, in practice, he was the one who ruled the empire for the next eight years in the company of Donkey, another of Nero’s advisors.

It seems that Nero had great esteem for his advisor and teacher. Furthermore, the power in the hands of the philosopher kept the empire stable and flourishing. However, As the young emperor grew older, he also began to harbor suspicions. around his mentor.

Although Seneca was a stoic moralist, the truth is that, during that period, he accumulated more wealth than any other man of power in his time. For this reason and also as a consequence of various intrigues, Nero began to see him as a potential enemy; He accused him of hypocrisy, and even of being the lover of his mother, Agrippina.

The death of Seneca

One of the most contradictory and regrettable episodes in Seneca’s life was the moment when Nero murdered his mother. Instead of questioning the fact, the philosopher tried by all means to justify it. It was evident that he feared the emperor and only thought of saving himself.

Then Donkey died and Seneca was practically alone. In an attempt to gain Nero’s favor, he offered to give him all his wealth and property.. At the same time, he asked the emperor for permission to retire from public life. In this way, he recorded the danger he felt, Seneca feared for his life and tried to save himself as best he could, thus, he managed to live a few more years.

Finally, Nero implicated him in a plot that had been carried out against him, although it was nothing more than a pretext to condemn him to death. At that time, if the condemned man was a patrician, he would commit suicide himself. Seneca abided by the norm and followed the tradition with his wife. After his death, his brothers and his nephew also committed suicide for fear of Nero’s cruelty.

In this way, the life of a great thinker came to an end, tragically and even unfairly. An ending that, on the other hand, contrasts with some of his contributions to philosophy, with the ethics that he defended.

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