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Senecan Tragedy
Senecan tragedy refers to a set of ten ancient Roman tragedies, eight of which were probably written by the Stoic philosopher and politician Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Senecan tragedy, much like any particular type of tragedy, had specific characteristics to help classify it. The three characteristics of Senecan tragedy were: five separate acts, each with a Chorus; recounting of ‘horrors’ and violent acts, which are usually done off-stage; and some sort of parallel of the violence that occurred. Only the Phoenissae departs from the five act structure. In the English literary canon, Seneca appears as a major influence on later texts about revenge, such as Titus Andronicus and The Crying of Lot 49. History Precise dating of when the tragedies were written is difficult to determine, but scholars estimate that they were produced sometime in the 50s CE.Kohn, Thomas D. ''The Dramaturgy of Senecan Tragedy''. University of Michigan Press, 2012. Seneca's extant tragedies were foun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terminus Post Quem
A ''terminus post quem'' ('limit after which', sometimes abbreviated TPQ) and ''terminus ante quem'' ('limit before which', abbreviated TAQ) specify the known limits of dating for events or items.. A ''terminus post quem'' is the earliest date the event may have happened or the item was in existence, and a ''terminus ante quem'' is the latest. An event may well have both a ''terminus post quem'' and a ''terminus ante quem'', in which case the limits of the possible range of dates are known at both ends, but many events have just one or the other. Similarly, a ''terminus ad quem'' 'limit to which' is the latest possible date of a non-punctual event (period, era, etc.), whereas a ''terminus a quo'' 'limit from which' is the earliest. The concepts are similar to those of upper and lower bounds in mathematics. These terms are often used in archaeological and historical studies, such as dating layers in excavated sites, coins, historical events, authors, inscriptions or texts where ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oresteia
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 Furies (also called Erinyes or Eumenides). The ''Oresteia'' trilogy consists of three plays: ''Agamemnon'', ''The Libation Bearers'', and ''The Eumenides''. It 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'' (), following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of ''Proteus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oedipus
Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. The story of Oedipus is the subject of Sophocles' tragedy ''Oedipus Rex'', which is followed in the narrative sequence by '' Oedipus at Colonus'' and then '' Antigone''. Together, these plays make up Sophocles' three Theban plays. Oedipus represents two enduring themes of Greek myth and drama: the flawed nature of humanity and an individual's role in the course of destiny in a harsh universe. In the best-known version of the myth, Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. Laius wished to thwart the prophecy, so he sent a shepherd-servant to leave Oedipus to die on a mountainside. However, the shepherd took pity on the baby and passed him to another shepherd who gave Oedipus to King Polybus and Queen Merope to raise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seneca The Younger
Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger ( ; AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, a dramatist, and in one work, a satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in Córdoba, Spain, Colonia Patricia Corduba in Hispania, and was trained in rhetoric and philosophy in Rome. His father was Seneca the Elder, his elder brother was Lucius Junius Gallio Annaeanus, and his nephew was the poet Lucan. In AD 41, Seneca was exiled to the island of Corsica under emperor Claudius, but was allowed to return in 49 to become a tutor to Nero. When Nero became emperor in 54, Seneca became his advisor and, together with the praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus, provided competent government for the first five years of Nero's reign. Seneca's influence over Nero declined with time, and in 65 Seneca was executed by forced suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to Assassination, assassinate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oedipus Rex
''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' (, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. While some scholars have argued that the play was first performed , this is highly uncertain. Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply ''Oedipus'' (), as it is referred to by Aristotle in the '' Poetics''. It is thought to have been renamed ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' to distinguish it from '' Oedipus at Colonus'', a later play by Sophocles. In antiquity, the term " tyrant" referred to a ruler with no legitimate claim to rule, but it did not necessarily have a negative connotation. Of Sophocles's three Theban plays that have survived, and that deal with the story of Oedipus, ''Oedipus Rex'' was the second to be written, following '' Antigone'' by about a dozen years. However, in terms of the chronology of events described by the plays, it comes first, followed by ''Oedipus at Colonus'' and then ''Antigone''. Prior to the start of ''Oe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is largely based on inferences made from reading his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in the theatre and allowed conflict among them. Formerly, characters interacted only with the Greek chorus, chorus.The remnant of a commemorative inscription, dated to the 3rd century BC, lists four, possibly eight, dramatic poets (probably including Choerilus, Phrynichus, and Pratinas) who had won Dionysia#Known winners of the City Dionysia, tragic victories at the Dionysia before Aeschylus had. Thespis was traditionally regarded the inventor of tragedy. According to another tradition, tragedy was established in Athens in the late 530s BC, but that may simply reflect an absence of records. Major innovations in dramatic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Octavia (play)
''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 (Poppaea Sabina). 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. The play was attributed to Seneca, but modern scholarship generally discredits this, since it contains accurate prophecies of both his and Nero's deaths. While the play closely resembles Seneca's plays in style, it was probably written some time after Seneca's death in the Flavian period by someone influenced by Seneca and aware of the events of his lifetime.H J Rose, A Handbook of Latin Literature (London 1967) p. 375 Characters * Octavia. *Octavia's Nurse. *Chorus of Romans. * Seneca. *Prefect. * Poppaea. * Agrippina (ghost). *Nero. *Messenger. Plot Act I Octavia, weary of her existence, bewails her misery. Her nurse curses the drawbacks which beset life i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hercules Oetaeus
''Hercules Oetaeus'' () is a '' fabula crepidata'' ( Roman tragedy with Greek subject) of 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. Authorship The play was first rejected by Daniel Heinsius in the 17th century, Heinsius also rejected Seneca's ''Phoenissae'', and he ascribed ''Hercules Furens'', ''Thyestes'', ''Oedipus'', and ''Agamemnon'', to Seneca's father. and the majority of modern critics agree that the play in its present form is not by Seneca. The work has many small differences in style from Seneca's other plays which "suggest a fundamentally different approach to playwriting". It is also around twice as long as Seneca's other plays, and is in fact the longest drama to survive from antiquity. ''Hercules Oetaeus'' contains numerous passages f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oedipus (Seneca)
''Oedipus'' is a '' fabula crepidata'' (Roman tragic play with Greek subject) 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. Characters * Oedipus is the king of Thebes, husband of Jocasta, and he is the supposed son of king Polybus of Corinth. He is the main protagonist of the play. * Jocasta is the widow of the former king Laius, wife of Oedipus and sister of Creon. * Creon is Jocasta's brother, and the chief aid to Oedipus in Thebes. * Tiresias is a blind prophet who is charged by Oedipus to find the killer of King Laius. * Manto is the daughter of Tiresias. She is used in the play to describe Tiresias' sacrifice to him, and therefore also to the audience. * An Old Man (''senex'') is a messenger from Corinth who comes to tell Oedipus that Polybus is dead ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agamemnon (Seneca)
''Agamemnon'' is a ''fabula crepidata'' (Roman tragedy with Greek subject) 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. Characters *''Thyestis umbra'' (Thyestes' ghost), uncle of Agamemnon *chorus *Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon *''nutrix'' (nurse) *Aegisthus, son of Thyestes, lover of Clytemnestra * Eurybates, messenger of Agamemnon. *Cassandra, Trojan princess, captive of Agamemnon *Agamemnon, king of Myceneae, and leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War. *Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra * Strophius, king of Phocis, husband of Agamemnon's sister *Orestes (silent role), son of Agamemnon, brother of Electra *Pylades (silent role), son of Strophius, friend of Orestes The scene is laid partly inside and partly outside the palace of Agamemnon at Argos or Mycenae, on the day of the return of the king from his long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Troades (Seneca)
''Troades'' () is a ''fabula crepidata'' (Roman tragedy with Greek subject) of c. 1179 lines of verse written by Seneca the Younger, Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Characters *Hecuba, queen of Troy, wife of Priam *Chorus of Trojans *Talthybius, Greek herald *Agamemnon, Greek king *Calchas, Greek seer *Helen of Troy, Helena, "Helen of Troy" *Neoptolemus, Pyrrhus, son of Achilles *Andromache, wife of Hector *''senex'' (old man) *Odysseus, Ulysses, Greek Hero *Astyanax, son of Andromache and Hector *''nuntius'' (messenger) *Polyxena, daughter of Hecuba and Priam (silent role) Plot The siege of Troy is done and the city is now smouldering ruins. The victorious Greeks have gathered the rich spoils of Troy upon the shore, among these the Trojan women who await their lot to be assigned to their Greek lords and taken to the cities of their foes. But now the ghost of Achilles has risen from the tomb, and demanded that Polyxena be sacrificed to him before the Greeks shall be allowed to sail away. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
