Seneca was exiled from Rome under Claudius, the successor to Caligula. He spent most of his 40s on the island of Corsica for what was probably a trumped up charge of adultery with one of the emperor's sisters. In 48 AD, when Claudius is married to Agrippina, the mother of Nero, he's recalled to Rome in order to serve as Nero's tutor. His great exemplar was Socrates, who, according to Plato, met his death with total serenity.