Amore, vino e tirannide. Il banchetto di Antonio e Cleópatra nella lettera 83 di Seneca

Abstract

This article focuses on the reference to Mark Antony in Ep. 83.25. The epistle deals with the consequences of drunkenness. Drunkenness (ebrietas) alongside the love for Cleopatra (amor Cleopatrae) caused Mark Antony’s degeneration from a well-thought-of Roman general to a cruel tyrant. By condemning the introduction of foreign habits and un-Roman vices, Seneca spells out his disapproval of the East and its moral depravity. Similarities and familiar links between Nero and Antony support a hypothesis that in this letter may allude to Nero. Through Letter 83, Seneca appears to be attempting to warn Nero against the risk of oriental-style royalty.