Seneca was a Spanish-born philosopher,
playwright, and scholar. He was an extremely successful speaker in Rome,
and his political fortunes with the Imperial court rose and fell more than
once. He was recalled from exile (imposed on him by the emperor Caligula)
to act as tutor for the young prince Nero. When Nero
assumed the throne after the death of Claudius, Seneca acted as his principle advisor during the first
five years of Nero's
rule, considered a Golden Age of Imperial government. Seneca eventually
fell out of favor due to a variety of intrigues and plots at court, and
was forced to commit suicide. His works on Stoic philosophy, science, and
his tragic plays influenced learning and literature for hundreds of years
after.
