Seneca and the End of the World

Francesca Romana Berno, Sapienza Universita di Roma, will present on Seneca and the Stoics’ view of the end of the world.

Periodically, the ancient Stoics believed, the universe is entirely destroyed, either by fire or water, and then begins anew.
Professor Berno will discuss the Roman Stoic Seneca’s description of the world’s end, and the wise man’s witness of it.
She maintains that Seneca envisions the elemental apocalypse by water; that his choice is rooted in political reasoning, and that is related to the devastating consequences of Nero’s tyrannical regime.