In 65 A.D., Seneca the Younger was accused a part in the Pisconian conspiracy, a plot that would assassinate Nero (who was Emperor at the time) and replace him with Gaius Piso. He was ratted out and ordered by Nero to commit suicide. He obeyed Nero and severed several of his veins in order to bleed to death. However, he did not die immediately so he was given poison, which also did not kill him but put him in immense pain. He was then placed by his friends in a warm bath to ease the flow of blood out of his body, but instead the fumes from the bath suffocated him according to Tacitus' account. His body was then incinerated without usual funeral rites. A painting by Luca Giordano in 1684 establishes the mood of the scene.
Tacitus: the Death of Seneca
No comments:
Post a Comment