I recently read a book about the late Roman republic and was struck by the number of times some leader or higher-up in a faction vying for power within the Republic would commit suicide rather than attempt...something else like going into hiding, or fleeing Rome.
What's going on here? The will to live seems nearly insurmountable in people of sound mental health to me. However, I assume that perspective at least partially the result of contemporary cultural mores. So what was it about society at that time that made suicide a feasible option for these people?
In the Roman world, voluntary death was an accepted practise, in particular, in relation to the concept of honour. For instance, one of the most famous voluntary deaths was that of Cato the Younger who killed himself in 46 BCE rather than to accept Caesar as dictator of Rome. His death became a role model under the Empire,.where we see Lucan and Seneca amongst others killing themselves after being involved in a conspiracy against the emperor Nero in the 60s CE.
Also remember that those who faced prosecution and conviction would forfeit their entire estate to the state so sometimes it was advantageous to commit voluntary death in the face of almost certain death, especially under the more crazed emperors.
In fact, killing yourself due to mental illness was considered a disgrace and according to some ancient philosophies- if you were facing insurmountable physical, political, criminal or just got a sign from the gods, then ok. There is one philosopher - whose name I forget - who was hit by something like a bird or turtle from above and figured that was the sign from the gods!
The main Roman reason, though, was political or trying to protect your family assets if you were pretty sure you would be convicted - there is a case in Pliny where a plot against the emperor was discovered and through the man's death prior to the conclusion of a serious case against him, was able to save his estate for his wife and son.