Pseudo-Seneca, Portrait of Hesiod (?)

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The Pseudo-Seneca bust is a Roman bronze relic from the late 1st century BC that was unearthed in the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum in 1754, showcasing one of over two dozen examples featuring the same likeness. Originally believed to be a portrait of Seneca the Younger, a renowned Roman philosopher, due to its gaunt features thought to reflect his Stoic teachings, modern scholars now agree it is likely a fictional representation intended for either Hesiod or Aristophanes. It's assumed that the original was a lost Greek bronze dating back to around 200 BC. This priceless relic is carefully preserved in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples. "Pseudo-Seneca" refers to the unknown authors behind various ancient and medieval texts, such as De remediis fortuitorum, which claim to be penned by the Roman author. Some of these works appear to incorporate genuine Senecan content, like Saint Martin of Braga's (died around 580) Formula vitae honestae, or De differentiis quatuor virtutumvitae honestae ("Rules for an Honest Life", or "On the Four Cardinal Virtues"). Early manuscripts contain Martin's preface, where he explicitly states that this was his adaptation; however, in later copies, this section was omitted, and the work was mistakenly attributed to Seneca.