The relationship between "Seneca philosophus" and "Seneca tragicus" is still fundamental to any interpretation of his tragedies. The author focuses on this problem within the field of theology. She analyses Seneca's understanding of providentia , and thus the question of theodicy, in his philosophical writings and plays, as well as his view of fatum , and thus the freedom of the will. In contrast to previous studies, which were primarily concerned with his dramas and only dealt with the philosophical works in passing, it is the theology of his philosophical writings that is the starting point for Fischer, allowing the problems they deal with to be applied to the interpretation of his dramas.

Susanna E. Fischer, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.