Seneca the Elder (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)

Seneca was born in Cordova, Spain, to an Equestrian family, spending most of his life in Rome. The details of his life, beyond his marriage to Helvia, a Spanish woman, and his vast accumulated wealth, are unclear. He was, however, a prolific writer. He authored a (lost) history of the important events of his era but also penned from memory a vital collection on the declaimers. Dedicated to his sons, the compilation contained 10 books of Contro-versiae and seven books on Suasoriae. Each of the Contro-versiae had a preface, surveying various orations. Unfortunately, only a few excerpts survived. A fourth-century-C. E. Christian abridgement made a little more available, preserving the prefaces for Books 1, 2, 3, and 4. Even fewer of the Suasoriae are extant. Of the seven books but a few epigrams are known. As a writer, Seneca revealed himself as capable of humor and careful thought.

Senecio, Claudius (d. 65 c. e.) Son of a freedman In the service of the emperors and a confidant of Emperor nero, Senecio joined otho in 55 C. E., another friend of the ruler, in the conspiracy to hide Nero’s affair with the woman acte. He apparently fell out of favor (as did Otho) and next appeared as a member of the PISO-NIAN CONSPIRACY to murder Nero in 65. Discovered, Senecio was promised a pardon by his former patron. He thus revealed name after name but was put to death anyway.

Sequani One of the large tribes inhabiting gallia Bel-gica in the first century b. c.e. They suffered very severe deprivations at the hands of the chieftain ariovistus and welcomed his defeat by Rome. Through a broad alliance with the Germans, however, they succeeded in acquiring supremacy over the federated tribes of the aedui. This brief reign was ended by Caesar’s conquests in Gallia Bel-gica. Subsequently their territory along the Seine was part of the Roman province of Gaul. The district of the Sequani was called Maxima Sequanorum.

Senecio, Herennius (d. c. 93 c. e.) An advocatus and biographer from Hispania Baetica

Senecio never pursued a public career beyond the office of QUAESTOR but was highly successful in his legal pursuits. He also authored a work on helvidius priscus and was probably put to death by Emperor domitian for it.

Senecio, Sosius (fl. late first century c. e.) Consul in 99 and 107 c. e.; a confidant of Trajan

Senecio earned from Trajan a statue in his honor in 110. He was also a friend of pliny the younger and was the recipient of several dedications by Plutarch in his Lives. Little else is known of him.

Sentius, Gnaeus (fl. early first century c. e.) Successor to Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso as governor of Syria in 19 c. e. Sentius was chosen by the legates and senators in Syria to assume control of the province following the death of GERMANICUS. He proved very firm, refusing to give Piso any favors and even sent the alleged prisoner, Martina, to Rome to take part in the inevitable trial against Piso and his wife, plancina. When the former governor attempted to reclaim his office, Sentius defeated his plans, placing him on a ship for Rome.

S ep temviri The so-called Board of the Seven, one of the leading priesthoods of rome. Originally known as the Epulones, they were created in 196 c. e. to aid the PONTIFI CES in their duties. Specifically, they organiz e d the banquets (the epulum) on the Capitoline Hill in honor of the capitoline deities. Later the collegium Epulonum assumed the task of superintending the public amusements whenever the senate ceremoniously dined on the Capitoline, normally as part of the Iudi R o m a n i.

When founded, the priests were known as the tresviri epulones as there were three of them. This number was increased to seven, and the name Septemviri Epulones was henceforth used, even after Julius Caesar had added three more members. The Septemviri were still in existence in the fourth century but eventually faded in the wake of Christianity.

See LUDI and paganism.

Serapis Deity who became a fixture in the pantheon of Ptolemaic EGYPT and was later popular throughout the Roman Empire. Serapis (also Sarapis) was created through the patronage of Ptolemy 1 of Egypt, who combined the Memphite religious idea concerning the spirit of the APIS Bull with Osiris, lending body to the new deity with a huge statue. The worship of Serapis became connected with that of other, more Greek deities, especially Zeus. Manifestations varied, depending upon the preference of the worshipers. He was Aesclepius, and hence god of healing, or Jupiter, supreme god, or even osiris-Hades-Pluton as the god of death. The popularity of Serapis during the Republic and the early imperial age was limited to Egypt and to parts of Greece. With the spread of other cults, however, especially Serapis’s superior rival, ISIS, the cult found fertile ground in Mediterranean ports, in the East and finally in the West. A temple to the divinity was constructed in York (see Britannia) while the famed Serapeum in ALEXANDRIA, with its host of cultic altars, served as the center for the Roman world.

ROME did not grant permission for Serapis to enter the city until the reign of gaius caligula (c. 37 c. e.). Henceforth the emperors of the first and second centuries C. E. supported Serapis enthusiastically. By the third century Romans were ardent believers, most notably in the so-called Zeus-Helios-Serapis or Serapis, the Sun god Jupiter. This form lasted until the annihilation of the cult by Christians in the fourth century. The destruction of the Serapeum in Alexandria was one of the mortal blows to organized paganism in the Roman Empire.

Serena (d. 408 c. e.) Niece of Emperor Theodosius I and wife of the magister militum Stilicho

Extremely unpopular in the courts of both ROME and CONSTANTINOPLE, Serena wed Stilicho sometime before 385, bearing him children who were to be linked by marriage to the imperial household: Maria and Aemilia Materna Thermantia both married honorius, while a son was mentioned as a possible husband to galla placidia. Her general treatment of pagans and her ambitions for her husband were enough to cause lasting dislike. When Stilicho was murdered in 408, she was put to death, mainly out of fear of her dealings with the visigoths’ King ALARIC.