BBC - In Our Times - Seneca the Younger

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Seneca the Younger, who was one of the first great writers to live his entire life in the world of the new Roman empire, after the fall of the Republic. He was a Stoic philosopher, he wrote blood-soaked tragedies, he was an orator, and he navigated his way through the reigns of Caligula, Claudius and Nero, sometimes exercising power at the highest level and at others spending years in exile. Agrippina the Younger was the one who called for him to tutor Nero, and it is thought Seneca helped curb some of Nero's excesses. He was later revered within the Christian church, partly for what he did and partly for what he was said to have done in forged letters to St Paul. His tragedies, with their ghosts and high body count, influenced Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and Hamlet, and Kyd's Spanish Tragedy. The image above is the so-called bust of Seneca, a detail from Four Philosophers by Peter Paul Rubens.
With
Mary Beard
Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge
Catharine Edwards
Professor of Classics and Ancient History at Birkbeck, University of London
and
Alessandro Schiesaro
Professor of Classics at the University of Manchester
Producer: Simon Tillotson.

[@kangakid5984]

This was wonderful, thank you for the stimulating discussion.

[@Samuel88853]

Mary Beard is the worst. Seneca's writings have lasted forever, her opinions will be forgotten

[@FilosofiApuntes]

Thank you very much for this

[@xbluebells]

Wow! Stoicism is summarized at the end by Mary Beard as a mean nasty bit of philosophy! Yikes. And I find it my new world view. Stoicism is much recommended with its pursuit of rational love of self and humanity.

[@jimmyjumbo2006]

Mary Beard is psychologically scarred by her absurd second name. Hendrix sums it up well in his little known track, 'The Wind Cries Mary Beard'.

[@TuskKult]

@@jimmyjumbo2006 Aw, man. Thanks for the laugh, I needed that.

[@Hymn43]

There’s also a good one Michel de Montaigne. You ought to hear it out ❤ kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJCYY2ZuibWLlbc

[@optimusprinceps3526]

Thank you

[@wotan237]

Hatchet job. These jerks disparaged the great Seneca a bit too much.

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

I get a bit tired of Mary Beard's gasping and snorting and chuckling in the background. The chatty and jokey and attitudinal stuff doesn't add to the audience's comprehension.

[@celtick4985]

Matthew McVeagh Agree, this happens sometimes, especially on radio discussions. Laughing, chuckling can really spoil an otherwise stimulating topic, 👍

[@blakeshannon9800]

Put off by the set up and, well, the way it all sounds. I love Seneca, but these academics are awful! Melvin Bragg has become perfunctory as he hurry things along. They all should quit! They are past their sell by date. So disappointed but hell, that’s the way the world is going! Just awful, old chap!

[@derekthomas6971]

tom Shannon Ouch, but I agree.

[@ScreenTalker]

They sound like they all popped an adderall right before the show. There’s no pause to consider what the other said and the woman misuses emphasis. Maybe they’re just too British for my liking

[@ivankacat]

I learned very little from this rambling obnoxious discussion!!