Star (classics, Middlebury College) provides an expanded portrait of ancient Roman self-care by considering how, in the work of rival philosophers Seneca and Petronius, empire in the ancient world structured the self and was internalized in the ideal of self-command. In two major sections, he examines how they address the problems and possibilities of self-shaping and self-revelation in the world of empire. Chapter topics include: the role of imperium in Seneca's philosophy, how self-address figures in Seneca's tragedies, bodies and their control in Petronius' characters, the crisis of words and appearances in the early Roman empire, bodily manifestations of Senecan psychology, and the place of the body in moral revelation. He argues that both Seneca and Petronius "attempt to move beyond the body as the privileged site for determining moral self-worth." Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)