When was seneca born
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Seneca was venerated as a moral thinker; he was also one of Nero’s closest advisers.Photograph from AISA / Everett
Sometime in the spring of the year 59, the emperor Nero decided to murder his mother. As you can imagine, the two were not on good terms. In a gesture designed to appear conciliatory, Nero invited his mother, Agrippina, to join him at a festival in Baiae, a resort town near present-day Naples. During the festivities, he treated her with great affection. Then, when it was time for her to leave, he presented her with a gift—a beautifully appointed boat to ferry her up the coast.
The gift was supposed to be a death trap. But just about everything that should have gone wrong didn’t. The deck of the ship fell in, yet, rather than killing Agrippina, it crushed one of her attendants. The hull, too, had been crafted to break apart; in all the confusion, though, it failed to do so. The rowers tried to overturn the ship. Once again, the effort fell short. Agrippina and a second attendant, Acerronia, swam free. Acerronia—“rather unwisely,” as Tacitus puts it—kept screaming
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The Suicide of Seneca
Source: Wikimedia Commons/Manuel Domínguez Sánchez/Public domain
Stoic philosophy has exerted an important influence on the history of ideas, including on the thought of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Schopenhauer, Adam Smith, and J.S. Mill.
In the field of mental health, Stoicism inspired what has become the most common form of talking treatment, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Aaron Beck (who passed away in 2021), the father of CBT, wrote that “the philosophical origins of cognitive therapy can be traced back to the Stoic philosophers.”
Seneca is our most important primary source on ancient Stoicism, followed by Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Musonius. He is also the most flamboyant and controversial. The emperor Nero made him the richest man in the empire, before ordering him to commit suicide.
How might we explain the discrepancy between the man and his teachings?
Early Years
Seneca was probably born in 4 BCE, the same year as Jesus, in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), Hispania (Spain).
His father, Seneca the Elder, was a Roman equestrian who
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This is part of our 3-part series on the three most important Stoic philosophers: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus. Here you will find a short introduction to Seneca, suggested readings, three exercises/lessons from him as well as a selection of quotes. You can also read our introduction to Stoicism if you are not familiar with the philosophy.
If you want to take a deeper dive into Stoicism and learn how to apply the philosophy to your life, check out our most popular course, Stoicism 101: Ancient Philosophy For Your Actual Life. It’s a 14-day course that will equip you with the tools to live as vibrant and expansive a life as the Stoics. Along with 14 daily emails, there will be 3 live video sessions with bestselling author Ryan Holiday, one of the world’s foremost thinkers and writers on ancient philosophy and its place in everyday life. Learn more here and make sure to register before the live cohort begins on March 22nd!
Introduction
Author Nassim Taleb likes to tell the story of Thales of Miletus, an ancient Greek philosopher, who, as Nassim joke
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