Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Tragedies Volume II Oedipus. Agamemnon. Thyestes. Hercules on Oeta. Octavia by Seneca Seneca , Tragedies, Volume II : Oedipus. Agamemnon. Thyestes. Hercules on Oeta. Octavia. Seneca is a figure of first importance in both Roman politics and literature: a leading adviser to Nero who attempted to restrain the emperor’s megalomania; a prolific moral philosopher; and the author of verse tragedies that strongly influenced Shakespeare and other Renaissance dramatists. Seneca’s plays depict intense passions and interactions in rhetoric that is equally strong. Their perspective is much bleaker than that adopted in his prose writings. His plots are based on mythical episodes, in keeping with classical tradition. But the political realities of imperial Rome are also reflected in an obsessive concern with power and dominion over others. The Octavia is our sole surviving example of a Roman historical play; set at Nero’s court, it was probably written by an admirer of Seneca as statesman and dramatist. John G. Fitch has thoroughly revised his two-volume edition of Seneca’s Tragedies to take account of the textual and interpretive scholarship that has appeared since its initial publication. His translation conveys the force of Seneca’s dramatic language and the lyric quality of his choral odes. Thyestes (Seneca) Thyestes is a first century AD fabula crepidata (Roman tragedy with Greek subject) of approximately 1112 lines of verse by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, which tells the story of Thyestes, who unwittingly ate his own children who were slaughtered and served at a banquet by his brother Atreus. [1] As with most of Seneca's plays, Thyestes is based upon an older Greek version with the same name by Euripides. Contents. Characters Plot Act I Act II Act III Act IV Act V Chorus Translations and influence References Further reading. Characters. Thyestes, Brother of Atreus, in exile Atreus, King of Argos Tantalus, son of Thyestes Plisthenes (silent role), son of Thyestes Tantali umbra (ghost of Tantalus), grandfather of Atreus & Thyestes Furia (Rage, Fury), often interpreted as Megaera satelles , attendant or guard of Atreus nuntius , messenger Chorus. Pelops, the son of Tantalus, had banished his sons for the murder of their half-brother, Chrysippus, with a curse upon them. Upon the death of Pelops, Atreus returned and took possession of his father’s throne. Thyestes, also, claimed the throne: he seduced his brother’s wife, Aërope, and stole by her assistance the magical, gold-fleeced ram from Atreus’ flocks, upon the possession of which the right to rule was said to rest. For this act he was banished by the king. But Atreus has long been meditating a more complete revenge upon his brother; and now in pretended friendship has recalled him from banishment, offering him a place beside himself upon the throne. [2] Act I. Tantalus is brought from the underworld by the Fury, and he is compelled to foster the wicked enmity between his grandsons, Atreus and Thyestes, the sons of Pelops. The Chorus invokes the presiding deities of the cities in Peloponnesus, that they will prevent and avert the wickedness and crimes that are now hatching in the Palace of Pelops, and chants of the impious crimes of Tantalus. [3] Act II. Atreus consults with his guard as to the best way of carrying out vengeance on his brother. The guard, however, will not listen, and advises him only to do what is right. But Atreus decides on an impious and horrible plan for executing his revenge. The Chorus reproves the ambition of rulers, and points out what a true king should be, and lastly sings in praise of a retired life. [3] Act III. Thyestes being recalled by his brother Atreus, via his sons, returns to his country, not however without distrust, and a mind foreshadowing disaster. His sons are tendered as hostages, so that he will return. [3] Atreus has entrapped his brother, and applauds silently to himself. He goes forth to meet him pretending to forgive. The Chorus, apparently oblivious to the preceding act, praises the fraternal affection of Atreus which has put aside the hatred and differences between the brothers, in much the same way as the calm which follows a storm illustrates. [3] Act IV. A Messenger who was present, reports the cruel deed of Atreus, and how the three children were killed and then served up to Thyestes at the horrible feast. [3] The Chorus, observing the going down of the Sun, becomes alarmed, fearing that the whole fabric of the universe should dissolve into fragments and lapse into eternal chaos. [3] Act V. Wicked Atreus gleefully congratulates himself on his cruel revenge, and reveals to his brother Thyestes the dreadful feast which he had eaten, and the serving up of the blood of his sons. [3] Chorus. An aspect of Thyestes that is not well understood is the existence of the Chorus, which, following Greek practice, appears after the first Act. This would explain why they are unaware of what happened with Tantalus and the Fury. Critics believe that this is due to the fact that Seneca expected the play to be acted out, which would explain the Chorus' ignorance throughout much of the play. [4] The second chorus is unfamiliar with what happened in Act II because they were not present on stage at that time. This is why they were unaware of Atreus' true plans to trick Thyestes and feed him his own children. It was not until Act IV that they were told of Atreus' crimes by the messenger. Some critics think that the contrast between what the Chorus says and what actually happens is confusing to the audience, which is why the Chorus is the least understood aspect of Senecan dramas. [4] Translations and influence. In 1560 Jasper Heywood, then a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, published a verse translation, which was republished in 1581 as part of Seneca, his tenne tragedies, translated into Englyſh . Watson Bradshaw composed a prose English translation in 1902. In 1917, Frank Justus Miller published another prose translation to accompany the original in the Loeb Classical Library. A new Loeb edition of Seneca's tragedies by John G. Fitch was published in 2002. Oxford University Press issued a new poetic translation of the play by Emily Wilson in 2010 as part of the title "Six Tragedies of Seneca." It generally corresponds to the Latin critical edition, "Seneca Tragoedia," edited by Otto Zwierlein (Clarendon Press, 1986). Shakespeare's tragedy Titus Andronicus derives some of its plot elements from the story of Thyestes. In 1681, John Crowne wrote Thyestes, A Tragedy , based closely on Seneca's Thyestes, but with the incongruous addition of a love story. Prosper Jolyot Crebillon (1674-1762) wrote a tragedy "Atree et Thyeste" (1707), which is prominent in two tales of ratiocination by Edgar Allan Poe. In 1796, Ugo Foscolo (1778–1827) wrote a tragedy called Tieste that was represented first in Venice one year later. Caryl Churchill, a British dramatist, also wrote a rendition of Thyestes. Caryl's specific translation was performed at the Royal Court Theater Upstairs in London on June 7, 1994 [5] In 2004, Jan van Vlijmen (1935– 2004) completed his opera Thyeste . The libretto was a text in French by Hugo Claus, based on his 20th century play with the same title (in Dutch: Thyestes ). Thyestes appears in Ford Ainsworth's one-act play, Persephone . Related Research Articles. In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was a king of Mycenae, the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra and the father of Iphigenia, Electra or Laodike (Λαοδίκη), Orestes and Chrysothemis. Legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area. When Menelaus's wife, Helen, was taken to Troy by Paris, Agamemnon commanded the united Greek armed forces in the ensuing Trojan War. Aegisthus was a figure in Greek mythology. Aegisthus is known from two primary sources: the first is Homer's Odyssey , believed to have been first written down by Homer at the end of the 8th century BC, and the second from Aeschylus's Oresteia , written in the 5th century, BC. Tantalus was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus. He was also called Atys . In Greek mythology, Atreus was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively, his descendants are known as Atreidai or Atreidae . In Greek mythology, Aërope was a Cretan princess as the daughter of King Catreus and sister to Clymene, Apemosyne and Althaemenes. She was the wife of Atreus, and by most accounts the mother of Agamemnon, Menelaus and Anaxibia. In Greek mythology, Thyestes was a king of Olympia. Thyestes and his brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half- brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympia. They took refuge in Mycenae, where they ascended the throne upon the absence of King Eurystheus, who was fighting the Heracleidae. Eurystheus had meant for their lordship to be temporary; it became permanent because of his death in conflict. In Greek mythology, Pleisthenes is the name of several different people descended from Tantalus. In Greek mythology, Pelops was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region. His father, Tantalus, was the founder of the House of Atreus through Pelops's son of that name. Hippodamia was a Greek mythological figure. She was the queen of Pisa as the wife of Pelops. In Greek mythology, Myrtilus was a divine hero and son of Hermes. His mother is said variously to the Amazon Myrto; Phaethusa, daughter of Danaus; or a nymph or mortal woman named Clytie, Clymene or Cleobule (Theobule). Myrtilus was the charioteer of King Oenomaus of Pisa in Elis, on the northwest coast of the Peloponnesus. The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of Atreus and the pacification of the Erinyes. The trilogy—consisting of Agamemnon (Ἀγαμέμνων), The Libation Bearers (Χοηφóρoι), and The Eumenides (Εὐμενίδες)—also shows how the Greek gods interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theatre trilogy, the Oresteia won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC. The principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. Oresteia originally included a satyr play, Proteus (Πρωτεύς), following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of Proteus has been lost. Octavia is a Roman tragedy that focuses on three days in the year 62 AD during which Nero divorced and exiled his wife Claudia Octavia and married another. The play also deals with the irascibility of Nero and his inability to take heed of the philosopher Seneca's advice to rein in his passions. Oedipus is a fabula crepidata of c. 1061 lines of verse that was written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca at some time during the 1st century AD. It is a retelling of the story of Oedipus, which is better known through the play Oedipus Rex by the Athenian playwright, Sophocles. It is written in Latin. Agamemnon is a fabula crepidata of c. 1012 lines of verse written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca in the first century AD, which tells the story of Agamemnon, who was killed by his wife Clytemnestra in his palace after his return from Troy. Phoenissae is a fabula crepidata written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca; with only c. 664 lines of verse it is his shortest play. It is an incomplete text in two parts. It is situated in Thebes in Boeotia, the city founded by Cadmus, who came from Sidon, in Phoenicia. Troades is a fabula crepidata of c. 1179 lines of verse written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Hercules or Hercules furens is a fabula crepidata of c. 1344 lines of verse written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Hercules Oetaeus is a fabula crepidata of c. 1996 lines of verse which survived as one of Lucius Annaeus Seneca's tragedies. It tells the story of Hercules' betrayal by his jealous wife, Deianira, followed by his death and apotheosis. The general opinion is that the play is not Seneca's, but was written in close imitation. In Greek mythology, Tantalus may refer to the following related personages: A family curse or an ancestral curse , a generational curse , hereditary curse , is a curse, on a family. The belief in them crosses many religious beliefs. There is no reliable scientific evidence that curses exist. Hercules Oetaeus. Hercules Oetaeus (Hercules on Mount Oeta) is a fabula crepidata (Roman tragedy with Greek subject) of c. 1996 lines of verse which survived as one of Lucius Annaeus Seneca's tragedies. It tells the story of Hercules' betrayal by his jealous wife, Deianira, followed by his death and apotheosis. The general opinion is that the play is not Seneca's, but was written in close imitation. Contents. Authorship Characters Plot Act I Act II Act III Act IV Act V Sources References Further reading. Authorship. The play was first rejected by Daniel Heinsius in the 17th century, [1] and the majority of modern critics agree that the play in its present form is not by Seneca. [2] The work has many small differences in style from Seneca's other plays which "suggest a fundamentally different approach to playwriting". [3] It is also around twice as long as Seneca's other plays, [2] and is in fact the longest drama to survive from antiquity. [4] Hercules Oetaeus contains numerous passages from Seneca's other plays which have been lifted out of context, reworked, and inserted into the play. [5] The play's conclusion contains a strong Stoic theme which is not found in Seneca's other plays. [4] However, there are still scholars who defend the play as authentic (albeit hastily written), [3] or argue that a later hand reworked an incomplete fragment. [5] Critics in favour of this view argue that the first third of the play (lines 1–705) could have originally been written by Seneca but that the end of the play is not his. [5] Characters. Hercules, Son of Jupiter and Alcmena Iole, Daughter of Eurytus, king of Oechalia nutrix (nurse) Deianeira, Daughter of Oeneus, king of Aetolia, and wife of Hercules Hyllus, Son of Hercules and Deianira Alcmena, Daughter of Electryon, king of Mycenae Philoctetes, A prince of Thessaly, and friend of Hercules Lichas (silent role) The messenger of Deianira to Hercules Chorus, of Aetolian women, faithful to Deianira. Band, of Oechalian women, suffering captivity in company with Iole. The long, heroic life of Hercules has neared its end. His twelve great tasks, assigned him by Eurystheus through Juno's hatred, have been done. His latest victory was over Eurytus, king of Oechalia. Hercules slew the king and overthrew his house, because he would not give Hercules his daughter Iole in marriage. And now the hero, having overcome the world, and Pluto's realm beneath the earth, aspires to heaven. He sacrifices to Cenaean Jove, and prays at last to be received into his proper home. [6] Act I. The first scene, with the chorus following, is at Euboea, where Hercules, about to offer sacrifices on the promontory of Cenaeum, records his wishes for a place in the heavens, which he recounts and boasts he has deserved. (The rest of the Tragedy takes place at Trachis.) Iole joining in with the Chorus of Oechalians, bewails the destruction of her country, the slaughter of her father and kinsfolk and lastly, her own position of servitude. [7] Act II. Deianira, furious with jealousy having seen Iole, debates revenge with her nurse. She decides to send a garment to Hercules anointed with the blood of the centaur Nessus. She believes that it will act as love charm, but mentions how Nessus told her that the charm must be kept in darkness. The Chorus of Aetolian women bewail the lot of Deianira, they express their dislike of ambition, avarice, luxury and other frivolous pursuits of mankind, and praise the inferior conditions of life. [7] Act III. Deianira repents of her plan when she is acquainted with what danger the poison has brought about, and the calamity, as predicted from its exposure to the sun, has now taken place. Having learned about this from Hyllus, Deianira resolves to kill herself. The Chorus sings of everything as being subject to Death, regarding the failing strength of Hercules— "that nothing born or created is lasting," which sentiment of Orpheus it praises, and they intersperse the Chorus with celebrating his divine art. [7] Act IV. Hercules complains about suffering undeservedly, and that he should be doomed to die an ignominious death, especially one arising out of a woman's treachery. Alcmena consoles Hercules, whilst lamenting his sad fate. Hyllus having returned, tells Hercules that Deianira, after she found that she had been deceived by Nessus, killed herself. The Chorus beseeches Phoebus to announce to all the world the death of Hercules: they predict the apotheosis of Hercules, and implore Jupiter, that there may be no more Tyrants, wild beasts or monsters, brought forth in the future, if so, that another Hercules may be forthcoming, as the avenger of such calamities. [7] Act V. Philoctetes announces the death and the last disposal of the body of Hercules. Alcmena grieves about her own downfall, arising out of the death of Hercules. Alcmena, in her grief, chants a funeral dirge. Hercules, having been raised to the companionship of the gods, consoles his grieving mother, being introduced into this scene by being lowered from the heavens above. The chorus breathes its thanks for the Apotheosis of Hercules, and is ready to worship the new Deity. [7] Sources. The first four acts follow the basic structure of Sophocles' play the Women of Trachis . [4] However the scenes which describe Hercules's self- immolation and apotheosis at the end may be derived from Ovid's Metamorphoses (ix. 229-272). [4] Related Research Articles. Heracles , born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon. He was a great-grandson and half-brother of Perseus. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae (Ἡρακλεῖδαι), and a champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. In Rome and the modern West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximian, often identified themselves. The Romans adopted the Greek version of his life and works essentially unchanged, but added anecdotal detail of their own, some of it linking the hero with the geography of the Central Mediterranean. Details of his cult were adapted to Rome as well. Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger , usually known as Seneca , was a Hispano-Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and—in one work—satirist from the Silver Age of Latin literature. Deianira , Deïanira , or Deianeira , also known as Dejanira , was a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name translated as "man- destroyer" or "destroyer of her husband". She was the wife of Heracles and, in late Classical accounts, his unwitting murderer, killing him with the poisoned Shirt of Nessus. She is the main character in Sophocles' play Women of Trachis . In Greek mythology, Iole was the daughter of King Eurytus of Oechalia. According to the brief epitome in the Bibliotheca , Eurytus had a beautiful young daughter named Iole who was eligible for marriage. Iole was claimed by Heracles for a bride, but Eurytus refused her hand in marriage. Iole was indirectly the cause of Heracles' death because of his wife's jealousy of her. In Greek mythology, Thyestes was a king of Olympia. Thyestes and his brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half- brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympia. They took refuge in Mycenae, where they ascended the throne upon the absence of King Eurystheus, who was fighting the Heracleidae. Eurystheus had meant for their lordship to be temporary; it became permanent because of his death in conflict. In Greek mythology, Lichas was Heracles' servant, who brought the poisoned shirt from Deianira to Hercules because of Deianira's jealousy of Iole, which killed him. In Greek mythology, Nessus was a famous centaur who was killed by Heracles, and whose tainted blood in turn killed Heracles. He was the son of Centauros. He fought in the battle with the Lapiths and became a ferryman on the river Euenos. Revenge tragedy is a theoretical genre in which the principal theme is revenge and revenge's fatal consequences. Formally established by American educator Ashley H. Thorndike in his 1902 article "The Relations of Hamlet to Contemporary Revenge Plays," a revenge tragedy documents the progress of the protagonist's revenge plot and often leads to the demise of both the murderers and the avenger himself. Women of Trachis or The Trachiniae c. 450–425 BC, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. Senecan tragedy refers to a set of ten ancient Roman tragedies, probably eight of which were written by the Stoic philosopher and politician Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Octavia is a Roman tragedy that focuses on three days in the year 62 AD during which Nero divorced and exiled his wife Claudia Octavia and married another. The play also deals with the irascibility of Nero and his inability to take heed of the philosopher Seneca's advice to rein in his passions. Hercules is a Musical Drama in three acts by George Frideric Handel, composed in July and August 1744. The English language libretto was by the Reverend Thomas Broughton, based on Sophocles's Women of Trachis and the ninth book of Ovid's Metamorphoses . The Capture of Oechalia is a fragmentary Greek epic that was variously attributed in Antiquity to either Homer or Creophylus of Samos; a tradition was reported that Homer gave the tale to Creophylus, in gratitude for guest-friendship ( xenia ) , and that Creophylus wrote it down. The tale known as " The Poison Dress " or " Embalmed Alive " features a dress that has in some way been poisoned. This is a recurring theme throughout legends and folktales of various cultures, including ancient Greece, Mughal India, and the United States. Although lacking evidence suggesting that some American urban legends are directly linked to the classical tales, they share several common motifs. Déjanire is an opera in 4 acts composed by Camille Saint-Saëns to a libretto in French by Louis Gallet and Camille Saint-Saëns. The last of Saint- Saëns' operas, it premiered on 14 March 1911 at the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo. One of the opera's central characters, Hercule (Hercules), had been the subject of two earlier symphonic poems by Saint-Saëns – Le Rouet d'Omphale (1872) and La Jeunesse d'Hercule (1877). The story is based on The Trachiniae by Sophocles. Goliath and the Dragon international co-production sword-and-sandal film starring Mark Forest and Broderick Crawford. The name of the main character was changed from Hercules to Emilius for release in North America by American International Pictures to sell it as a sequel to their earlier Goliath and the Barbarians (1959). Hercule mourant is an opera by the French composer Antoine Dauvergne, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique on 3 April 1761. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in five acts. The libretto, by Jean-François Marmontel, is based on the tragedies The Women of Trachis by Sophocles and Hercule mourant, ou La Déjanire (1634) by Jean Rotrou. Thyestes is a first century AD fabula crepidata of approximately 1112 lines of verse by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, which tells the story of Thyestes, who unwittingly ate his own children who were slaughtered and served at a banquet by his brother Atreus. As with most of Seneca's plays, Thyestes is based upon an older Greek version with the same name by Euripides. Agamemnon is a fabula crepidata of c. 1012 lines of verse written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca in the first century AD, which tells the story of Agamemnon, who was killed by his wife Clytemnestra in his palace after his return from Troy. Hercules or Hercules furens is a fabula crepidata of c. 1344 lines of verse written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Seneca Frank Justus Miller Trans. Loeb: Seneca's Tragedies, Vol. II: Agamemnon; Thyestes; Hercules Oetaeus; Phoenissae; Octavia. Seneca; Frank Justus Miller trans. Published by Harvard, 1961. Used - Hardcover Condition: Good. Hardcover. Condition: Good. Ex-library copy with usual markings. Cover and edges shows shelf wear. Pages are clean and intact. Loeb: Seneca's Tragedies, Vol. II: Agamemnon; Thyestes; Hercules Oetaeus; Phoenissae; Octavia. Seneca; Frank Justus Miller trans. Published by Harvard, 1953. Used - Hardcover Condition: Very Good. Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Bound in publisher's red cloth. Hardcover. No dust jacket. Good binding and cover. Minor shelf wear. Rubbing to edges. Generally clean. 542 p., 17 cm. Loeb: Seneca's Tragedies, Vol. II: Agamemnon; Thyestes; Hercules Oetaeus; Phoenissae; Octavia. Seneca; Frank Justus Miller trans. Published by Harvard, 1961. Used - Hardcover Condition: Good. Hardcover. Condition: Good. Volume 2 only, Binding is solid, light sun fade on spine, no dust jacket, text is free of markings, no previous owner name, we ship quickly with tracking. Loeb: Seneca's Tragedies, Vol. I: Hercules Furens; Troades; Medea; Hippolytus; Oedipus. Seneca; Frank Justus Miller trans. Published by Harvard, 1960. Used - Hardcover. Hardcover, no dust jacket. Bilingual text in Latin and English. Boards are slightly edge worn, with some splitting to spine edges. 569 pages. This item is at our location in Eugene, Oregon. 569 pp. Loeb: Seneca's Tragedies, Vol. II: Agamemnon; Thyestes; Hercules Oetaeus; Phoenissae; Octavia. Seneca; Frank Justus Miller trans. Published by Harvard, 1961. Used - Hardcover. Hardcover, no dust jacket. Bilingual text in Latin and English. Boards are slightly edge worn and scuffed. 542 pages. This item is at our location in Eugene, Oregon. 542 pp. Loeb: Seneca, Vol. IX: Tragedies II: Agamemnon; Thyestes; Hercules; Oetaeus; Phoenissae; Octavia. Seneca; Frank Justus Miller trans. Published by Harvard / William Heinemann, 1968. Used - Hardcover. Hardcover, no dust jacket. Ex-library. Boards are slightly edge worn and bumped. 542 pages. This item is at our location in Eugene, Oregon. 542 pp. Loeb: Seneca's Tragedies, vol. I: Hercules Furens; Troades; Medea; Hippolytus; Oedipus. Seneca; Frank Justus Miller trans. Published by Harvard, 1960. Used - Hardcover. Hardcover with dust jacket. VG/G. Previous owner's name-stamp, slightly chipped dust jacket. This item is at our location in Eugene, Oregon. 569 pp. SENECA IX. TRAGEDIES II Agamemnon. Thyestes. Hercules Oetaeus. Phoenissae. Octavia. Seneca; Frank Justus Miller (Trans. ) Published by Harvard University Press & William Heinemann, 1968. Used - Hardcover Condition: Very Good- Hardcover. Condition: Very Good-. Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket. Scholar's blindstamp and name to ffep (Robert Brown). Scholar's bookplate to inner cover (Robert Brown). Dampstaining to lower cover of textblock. Minor rubbing. ; Loeb Classical Library No. 78; 542 pages; Seneca is a figure of first importance in both Roman politics and literature: a leading adviser to Nero who attempted to restrain the emperor's megalomania; a prolific moral philosopher; and the author of verse tragedies that strongly influenced Shakespeare and other Renaissance dramatists. Here is the first of a new two-volume edition of Seneca's tragedies, with a fully annotated translation facing the Latin text. Seneca's plays depict intense passions and interactions in an appropriately strong rhetoric. Their perspective is much bleaker than that of his prose writings. In this new translation John Fitch conveys the force of Seneca's dramatic language and the lyric quality of his choral odes. The Complete Tragedies, Volume 2. Oedipus, Hercules Mad, Hercules on Oeta, Thyestes, Agamemnon. $44.99. $44.99. Publisher Description. Edited by world-renowned classicists Elizabeth Asmis, Shadi Bartsch, and Martha C. Nussbaum, the Complete Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca offers authoritative, modern English translations of the writings of the Stoic philosopher and playwright (4 BCE–65 CE). The two volumes of The Complete Tragedies presents all of his dramas, expertly rendered by preeminent scholars and translators. The first volume contains Medea , The Phoenician Women , Phaedra , The Trojan Women , and Octavia , the last of which was written in emulation of Senecan tragedies and serves as a unique example of political tragedy. This second volume includes Oedipus , Hercules Mad , Hercules on Oeta , Thyestes , and Agamemnon . High standards of accuracy, clarity, and style are maintained throughout the translations, which render Seneca into verse with as close a correspondence, line for line, to the original as possible, and with special attention paid to meter and overall flow. In addition, each tragedy is prefaced by an original translator’s introduction offering reflections on the work’s context and meaning. Notes are provided for the reader unfamiliar with the culture and history of classical antiquity. Accordingly, The Complete Tragedies will be of use to a general audience and professionals alike, from the Latinless student to scholars and instructors of comparative literature, classics, philosophy, drama, and more.