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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).

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