Stoicism in the Roman Empire

Stoicism in the Roman Empire developed through teachers, statesmen and emperors, including Seneca, Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. It focused on judgement, virtue, endurance, discipline and the distinction between what is and is not under one’s control.

The context matters because Stoic writing is closely tied to imperial pressure, exile, slavery, service, illness and political danger. It gives Roman philosophical texts their practical moral urgency.

This context is useful for Letters from a Stoic, Discourses and Selected Writings, Meditations and fiction involving imperial ethics or court danger.