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Thyestes
Seneca's Thyestes
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 65
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604 people want to read
About the author
Seneca
2,705 books3,866 followersLucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca or Seneca the Younger); ca. 4 BC – 65 AD) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero, who later forced him to commit suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to have him assassinated.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
August 10, 2022
La obra "Tiestes" es una de mis tragedias favoritas. En esta ocasión Séneca aborda de una manera cruel y muy fuerte la venganza de Atreo sobre su hermano Tiestes.
En verdad que esta familia pasó por cosas realmente terribles. Tántalo fue condenado en el Hades a padecer hambre y sed eternamente teniendo un lago hasta su cuello y frutas que nunca podía alcanzar, esto por haber invitado a los dioses un banquete donde el plato principal era su propio hijo Pélope, pero Pélope fue resucitado por los dioses y a su vez tuvo como hijos a Atreo y Tiestes. Este último logró arrebatarle el reino de Micenas a su hermano tras haber seducido a su mujer y obtener de ésta un símbolo de poder real.
La obra narra el momento desde que Tiestes es llamado por su hermano para una reconciliación e invitación a compartir el trono, lo acompañan sus hijos Tántalo y Plístenes. Los diálogos son bien ilustrativos y tensos, así como las peores acciones son descritas de una manera demasiado cruda, cosa que a muchos no gusta pero considero que eso le da el verdadero drama a esta leyenda que ya de por sí es bastante perturbadora.
En verdad que esta familia pasó por cosas realmente terribles. Tántalo fue condenado en el Hades a padecer hambre y sed eternamente teniendo un lago hasta su cuello y frutas que nunca podía alcanzar, esto por haber invitado a los dioses un banquete donde el plato principal era su propio hijo Pélope, pero Pélope fue resucitado por los dioses y a su vez tuvo como hijos a Atreo y Tiestes. Este último logró arrebatarle el reino de Micenas a su hermano tras haber seducido a su mujer y obtener de ésta un símbolo de poder real.
La obra narra el momento desde que Tiestes es llamado por su hermano para una reconciliación e invitación a compartir el trono, lo acompañan sus hijos Tántalo y Plístenes. Los diálogos son bien ilustrativos y tensos, así como las peores acciones son descritas de una manera demasiado cruda, cosa que a muchos no gusta pero considero que eso le da el verdadero drama a esta leyenda que ya de por sí es bastante perturbadora.
February 5, 2024
Tantalus was sent to Hell for serving his own son with a balsamic dressing to the Gods. Several generations later, his descendent Atreus is highly aggreived that his banished brother Thyestes may have shagged his wife, so intends to avenge himself against his sibling by one upping his ancestor and making Thyestes unknowingly eat his own children.
Seneca is a gorehound. He is an unhinged sadist, a lover of misery, torture and violence. He's good but, Jes-us, does he like to hurt his characters. His version of Hercules Furens had gratuitous violence; the gross and detailed descriptions of sacrificed children in The Trojan Women was nauseous, but something about Thyestes really got to me. You can sense the writers joy in the darkness here, a manic grin as quill is scribbled on parchment, an anticipation of the delicious moment of reveal as sin and taboo are described in vivid, ecstatic detail, and I suspect his toga needed laundering afterwards.
The tragedy has some morals, that being don't trust people you've wronged, or don't sleep with your brother's wife unless you want to be served your youngest as a starter, but it's utterly secondary to the human violence. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex was a slow build up to recognising your sins, but when I finally get round to reading Seneca's version of that play I'm expecting less a developement of dramatic irony, and more a ten minute monologue on how Oedipus gouges out his eyes and how far the blood splatter flew.
I didn't dislike Thyestes, it's a conte cruel of the most stomach worthy kind and compelling enough, but if I hadn't already known Seneca had to deal with Nero's Christian candle parties, I wouldn't be surprised to hear it now.
Seneca is a gorehound. He is an unhinged sadist, a lover of misery, torture and violence. He's good but, Jes-us, does he like to hurt his characters. His version of Hercules Furens had gratuitous violence; the gross and detailed descriptions of sacrificed children in The Trojan Women was nauseous, but something about Thyestes really got to me. You can sense the writers joy in the darkness here, a manic grin as quill is scribbled on parchment, an anticipation of the delicious moment of reveal as sin and taboo are described in vivid, ecstatic detail, and I suspect his toga needed laundering afterwards.
The tragedy has some morals, that being don't trust people you've wronged, or don't sleep with your brother's wife unless you want to be served your youngest as a starter, but it's utterly secondary to the human violence. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex was a slow build up to recognising your sins, but when I finally get round to reading Seneca's version of that play I'm expecting less a developement of dramatic irony, and more a ten minute monologue on how Oedipus gouges out his eyes and how far the blood splatter flew.
I didn't dislike Thyestes, it's a conte cruel of the most stomach worthy kind and compelling enough, but if I hadn't already known Seneca had to deal with Nero's Christian candle parties, I wouldn't be surprised to hear it now.
January 27, 2023
Atreus, powerful but miserable and consumed by rage, is willing to do ghastly things to keep his kingdom. His guard tells him, it's better to live a peaceful life in anonymity, fear nothing, and die unknown.
"Death lies heavily on the man, who dies unknown by himself, but too much known by the rest of mankind!"
I think this advice applies just as well to today's reality TV stars.
His brother, Thyestes, who has betrayed him by sleeping with his wife and stealing the kingdom's golden ram, then escaping to the woods, realizes that actually he likes living in poverty in the middle of nowhere.
"To be able to bear life contentedly without a kingdom, represents to my mind a kingdom vast indeed!"
But it's too late. He can't escape his brother's vengeance. This isn't the kind of kingdom where people chill and eat something other than their own children.
"Death lies heavily on the man, who dies unknown by himself, but too much known by the rest of mankind!"
I think this advice applies just as well to today's reality TV stars.
His brother, Thyestes, who has betrayed him by sleeping with his wife and stealing the kingdom's golden ram, then escaping to the woods, realizes that actually he likes living in poverty in the middle of nowhere.
"To be able to bear life contentedly without a kingdom, represents to my mind a kingdom vast indeed!"
But it's too late. He can't escape his brother's vengeance. This isn't the kind of kingdom where people chill and eat something other than their own children.
July 12, 2018
In the first century of the Roman Empire, Seneca was to write a series of tragedies that, while covering much of the ground of the Greek tragedians, was ever so much darker. Could it be because he was exiled by Claudius for committing adultery (probably a false accusation by Messalina), only to be recalled as tutor and later chief advisor to the Emperor Nero.
The play starts with a Greek Fury cursing the whole line that was to follow Tantalus. Included were Pelops, Atreus and his brother Thyestes, Agamemnon, and Aegisthus.
The play starts with a Greek Fury cursing the whole line that was to follow Tantalus. Included were Pelops, Atreus and his brother Thyestes, Agamemnon, and Aegisthus.
July 16, 2022
المقدمة تحرق الأحداث كمثل معظم كتب المركز القومي للترجمة، لكن أيضا تقريبا كل صفحات المسرحية مزودة بهوامش توضح خلفية قصة إغريقية، أو اسم إله ذُكر في الحوار، إلخ، وهي تحرق الأحداث أيضا، في الحقيقة المسرحية قصيرة تمتلك حدث وحيد يتيم. أظن الهوامش كانت أطول من نص المسرحية نفسه ويمكن أمتع منه🤷♂️. وأريا ستارك ستكون فخورة بأتريوس كثيرا.
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November 25, 2024Ins: Greek tragedies Outs: Shakespeare
October 11, 2023
2.5 ⭐
-
not my favourite. and. a bit too vulgar
-
not my favourite. and. a bit too vulgar
February 10, 2018
This book may have been a tad difficult to read (note: read on an empty stomach because you WILL want to vomit profusely). However, I know Seneca's work is traditionally an attempt to work out his philosophy, and I think he's a successful craftsman with interesting scenes.
October 15, 2015
Had to read this alongside Shakespeare's Titis Andronicus this week. Hands down no comparison! Sorry Seneca!
December 7, 2021
Not me doing the optional reading voor theatre history zodat ik meer boeken op mijn reading challenge heb staan😌😳
Would not recommend dit toneelstuk tho (tenzij je kinderen opeten een leuk thema vindt natuurlijk)
Would not recommend dit toneelstuk tho (tenzij je kinderen opeten een leuk thema vindt natuurlijk)
January 17, 2024
Coro: "nei tuoi mali c'è un solo bene, Tieste, che tu ignori i tuoi mali."
October 9, 2025
“Let brother be afraid of brother, parent of son, son of father; let death come to children vilely, but birth more vilely; let husband be menaced by wife’s enmity; in this unnatural home let adultery be the lightest of misdeeds. Let right, faithfulness and law perish utterly. Let them carry war overseas, let spilt blood drench all lands and over the mighty leaders of nations let Lust exult victorious. And let heaven not be immune to your evil.”
Seneca's Thyestes tells the story of the horrid culmination of the years-long rivalry between the brothers Atreus and Thyestes. As the truth of the feast offered by Atreus to his brother, newly returned from exile, is revealed, the world trembles with the wrath of the gods.
This is one of the most appalling, gut-wrenching and disgusting tragedies I have ever read. I loved it with my whole heart. Not only is the story told in a really captivating way, but Seneca manages to create such a vivid, nearly apocalyptic atmosphere with his descriptions of the day suddenly turning to night, stars disappearing and the whole earth trembling with the wrath of the gods over what Atreus plans to do. This play is also a masterclass in tormenting the reader: we know from the get-go that Atreus is planning an inhumane crime against his brother, but when Thyestes arrives in Argos, worried that he is walking into a trap, Atreus acts all kind and forgiving, lulling his brother into a sense of false security. The reader just begs Thyestes to take his sons and run far away, back into the calm life in exile he built, but of course that does not happen. Of course all goes to shit – this is, after all, a tragedy. And the way, in the end, Atreus taunts Thyestes, who is unaware of what his brother did to him, was so, twisted (in the best of ways) to read.
As someone who knows the myth of this wretched family really well, knowing everything that came before them and will come after them also makes everything that happens hit that much harder. The way the fury orders the ghost of Tantalus to fuel his grandsons' hatred towards each other, (and delivers one of the most chilling lines I have ever read with my own two eyes: “Let blood mingled with wine be drunk while you watch. I have found a dinner that even you would run from.”), forcing this man already broken by his eternal punishment to lure his own offspring into committing crimes even more heinous than his own was chilling, as was the fury prophesizing all the crimes within this family to come was. The house of Tantalus/Pelops – described brilliantly by someone in the play as a "dismembered family" – is one of the most fucked up houses in all of mythology and while reading about them often gets quite gloomy and upsetting (I can handle a lot but the graphic descriptions of were quite dreadful even for me), I do love their story a lot. There's something so intriguing about a family seemingly so hellbent on destroying each other. They do not need the gods to hurt each other (Heracles, for example, kills his family only because he was driven mad by Hera). I see this family as a mythological study on intergenerational trauma and cycles of violence people can get trapped in. Before I move on to the characters, I have to say this description of Tantalus's crime gutted me because of the emphasis on how his son loved him: “The little son running for his father’s kiss was received with a cold-blooded sword and fell at the hearth, an unripe victim: your hand, Tantalus, sectioned him to furnish the table for your guests the gods."
The central characters, Atreus and Thyestes, both felt very vivid. Atreus is an absolutely monstrous man, but he is driven by very human emotions: jealousy, pride, fear and ambition. Greek and Roman mythology are filled with actual monsters, but oftentimes the scariest characters in these stories are humans. Atreus is a great example of that. Through him, Seneca explores not just the eternal question of whether vengeance is ever the way to go or whether hurting someone because they hurt you fixes anything, but also what it means to be a good king. Atreus declares that in his kingdom: “– death is something people beg for.” He sees himself as above all else and is convinced everyone should obey and bow before him, and he ignores his assistant who tries to get him to see sense, to understand that what truly makes a man a king is wisdom, a noble heart and a mind free of ruthless ambition. But just like everyone in his family, Atreus is trapped in this horrid cycle of vengeance and bloodshed, and won't free himself of it. He even says of his own sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus: “You fear their becoming evil? They are born so.” Thyestes, though he has also done some shitty things, is the the central victim and sufferer in this tragedy. Though I do not much like him as a person, I did feel absolutely gutted for him when the truth is revealed and his life is torn apart by his brother's cruelty. While Atreus represents this tyrannical king, Thyestes is a man wise enough to see the perils of leadership and the dangers that come with ruling – a man who has found contentment in a normal, peaceful existence that is rich in love even if not rich in gold.
The brothers' dynamic is quite awful (once again, in the best of ways from a reader's perspective). Atreus's ravenous need to see his brother broken and defeated, and Thyestes's distrust of him even when he seems all polite, was great to read about. The very end where they was a spectacular way to end this story. I do love the classic trope of warring brothers – there's something especially intriguing about people who grow up together, who are expected to love each other, absolutely hate each other's guts. One final cool thing about these two is that they offer a great contrast to the rather close and genuinely caring bond that will emerge between Agamemnon and Menelaus later on in life. Where Atreus and Thyestes tear each other apart, Agamemnon and Menelaus fight side by side and, when Agamemnon dies, Menelaus mourns him deeply as a little brother should.
Finally, I wanna talk briefly about the porous lines between humanity and inhumanity in this play. Atreus is a human man, a mortal man, but as he does what he does, Seneca describes him as this animalistic monster, almost a creature. He is a tigress stalking his prey, he is a lion goring his victims. It's interesting, this idea that a person must not be quite human anymore if he does something this cruel, when, in reality, humans are of course capable of all kinds of horrible shit. Violence is imbedded in our species, there's no denying it. What makes Atreus, in my opinion, such a great "villain" is that he is human. He is not a vengeful god nor is he, say, a creature like Charybadis or a Stymphalian bird. He is a normal, mortal man. I wonder if, in describing him as beast-like, Seneca wanted to make his violence more understandable for his audience. Whatever his motive, the result is a really intriguing exploration of the relationship between violence and humanity.
I am so glad I finally picked this play up. I've been meaning to read it for weeks now but have just never gotten around to doing it, despite these plays being, due to their short length, quite fast to read. Seneca has, with the three plays I have read from him, confirmed his place as one of my favorite ancient authors.
Seneca's Thyestes tells the story of the horrid culmination of the years-long rivalry between the brothers Atreus and Thyestes. As the truth of the feast offered by Atreus to his brother, newly returned from exile, is revealed, the world trembles with the wrath of the gods.
This is one of the most appalling, gut-wrenching and disgusting tragedies I have ever read. I loved it with my whole heart. Not only is the story told in a really captivating way, but Seneca manages to create such a vivid, nearly apocalyptic atmosphere with his descriptions of the day suddenly turning to night, stars disappearing and the whole earth trembling with the wrath of the gods over what Atreus plans to do. This play is also a masterclass in tormenting the reader: we know from the get-go that Atreus is planning an inhumane crime against his brother, but when Thyestes arrives in Argos, worried that he is walking into a trap, Atreus acts all kind and forgiving, lulling his brother into a sense of false security. The reader just begs Thyestes to take his sons and run far away, back into the calm life in exile he built, but of course that does not happen. Of course all goes to shit – this is, after all, a tragedy. And the way, in the end, Atreus taunts Thyestes, who is unaware of what his brother did to him, was so, twisted (in the best of ways) to read.
As someone who knows the myth of this wretched family really well, knowing everything that came before them and will come after them also makes everything that happens hit that much harder. The way the fury orders the ghost of Tantalus to fuel his grandsons' hatred towards each other, (and delivers one of the most chilling lines I have ever read with my own two eyes: “Let blood mingled with wine be drunk while you watch. I have found a dinner that even you would run from.”), forcing this man already broken by his eternal punishment to lure his own offspring into committing crimes even more heinous than his own was chilling, as was the fury prophesizing all the crimes within this family to come was. The house of Tantalus/Pelops – described brilliantly by someone in the play as a "dismembered family" – is one of the most fucked up houses in all of mythology and while reading about them often gets quite gloomy and upsetting (I can handle a lot but the graphic descriptions of were quite dreadful even for me), I do love their story a lot. There's something so intriguing about a family seemingly so hellbent on destroying each other. They do not need the gods to hurt each other (Heracles, for example, kills his family only because he was driven mad by Hera). I see this family as a mythological study on intergenerational trauma and cycles of violence people can get trapped in. Before I move on to the characters, I have to say this description of Tantalus's crime gutted me because of the emphasis on how his son loved him: “The little son running for his father’s kiss was received with a cold-blooded sword and fell at the hearth, an unripe victim: your hand, Tantalus, sectioned him to furnish the table for your guests the gods."
The central characters, Atreus and Thyestes, both felt very vivid. Atreus is an absolutely monstrous man, but he is driven by very human emotions: jealousy, pride, fear and ambition. Greek and Roman mythology are filled with actual monsters, but oftentimes the scariest characters in these stories are humans. Atreus is a great example of that. Through him, Seneca explores not just the eternal question of whether vengeance is ever the way to go or whether hurting someone because they hurt you fixes anything, but also what it means to be a good king. Atreus declares that in his kingdom: “– death is something people beg for.” He sees himself as above all else and is convinced everyone should obey and bow before him, and he ignores his assistant who tries to get him to see sense, to understand that what truly makes a man a king is wisdom, a noble heart and a mind free of ruthless ambition. But just like everyone in his family, Atreus is trapped in this horrid cycle of vengeance and bloodshed, and won't free himself of it. He even says of his own sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus: “You fear their becoming evil? They are born so.” Thyestes, though he has also done some shitty things, is the the central victim and sufferer in this tragedy. Though I do not much like him as a person, I did feel absolutely gutted for him when the truth is revealed and his life is torn apart by his brother's cruelty. While Atreus represents this tyrannical king, Thyestes is a man wise enough to see the perils of leadership and the dangers that come with ruling – a man who has found contentment in a normal, peaceful existence that is rich in love even if not rich in gold.
The brothers' dynamic is quite awful (once again, in the best of ways from a reader's perspective). Atreus's ravenous need to see his brother broken and defeated, and Thyestes's distrust of him even when he seems all polite, was great to read about. The very end where they was a spectacular way to end this story. I do love the classic trope of warring brothers – there's something especially intriguing about people who grow up together, who are expected to love each other, absolutely hate each other's guts. One final cool thing about these two is that they offer a great contrast to the rather close and genuinely caring bond that will emerge between Agamemnon and Menelaus later on in life. Where Atreus and Thyestes tear each other apart, Agamemnon and Menelaus fight side by side and, when Agamemnon dies, Menelaus mourns him deeply as a little brother should.
Finally, I wanna talk briefly about the porous lines between humanity and inhumanity in this play. Atreus is a human man, a mortal man, but as he does what he does, Seneca describes him as this animalistic monster, almost a creature. He is a tigress stalking his prey, he is a lion goring his victims. It's interesting, this idea that a person must not be quite human anymore if he does something this cruel, when, in reality, humans are of course capable of all kinds of horrible shit. Violence is imbedded in our species, there's no denying it. What makes Atreus, in my opinion, such a great "villain" is that he is human. He is not a vengeful god nor is he, say, a creature like Charybadis or a Stymphalian bird. He is a normal, mortal man. I wonder if, in describing him as beast-like, Seneca wanted to make his violence more understandable for his audience. Whatever his motive, the result is a really intriguing exploration of the relationship between violence and humanity.
I am so glad I finally picked this play up. I've been meaning to read it for weeks now but have just never gotten around to doing it, despite these plays being, due to their short length, quite fast to read. Seneca has, with the three plays I have read from him, confirmed his place as one of my favorite ancient authors.
October 3, 2022
"إنه قدري أنْ أعاني من العقاب،
وليس أنْ أكون أنا العقاب."
"الذين يُجبرهم الخوف
على المدح، يحولهم الخوف لأعداء.
ولكن من يسعى لتحقيق المجد عبر التأييد الحقيقي،
سوف يتمنى أنْ يحظى بالمديح من قلب صادق وليس من مجرد صوت."
"إنّ الأمل فيما هو غير مشروع سريع التصديق."
"والآن دعوني أنعم بالسكينة الحلوة؛
وأمكث في مكان منعزل،
وأستمتع بوقت فراغ هادئ،
ولا أكون معروفًا بين أقراني من المواطنين
ولينساب نهر عمري في هدوء.
وهكذا عندما تمر أيامي في هدوء،
سأموت عجوزًا كفرد بسيط من العامة.
ولكن بالنسبة للملك فربما يكون الموت ثقيلًا،
فالذي يكون معروفًا للجميع،
يموت مجهولًا لنفسه."
"فالمُلك الذي لا حد له هو أنْ تستطيع أنْ تكون سعيدًا بلا مملكة."
وليس أنْ أكون أنا العقاب."
"الذين يُجبرهم الخوف
على المدح، يحولهم الخوف لأعداء.
ولكن من يسعى لتحقيق المجد عبر التأييد الحقيقي،
سوف يتمنى أنْ يحظى بالمديح من قلب صادق وليس من مجرد صوت."
"إنّ الأمل فيما هو غير مشروع سريع التصديق."
"والآن دعوني أنعم بالسكينة الحلوة؛
وأمكث في مكان منعزل،
وأستمتع بوقت فراغ هادئ،
ولا أكون معروفًا بين أقراني من المواطنين
ولينساب نهر عمري في هدوء.
وهكذا عندما تمر أيامي في هدوء،
سأموت عجوزًا كفرد بسيط من العامة.
ولكن بالنسبة للملك فربما يكون الموت ثقيلًا،
فالذي يكون معروفًا للجميع،
يموت مجهولًا لنفسه."
"فالمُلك الذي لا حد له هو أنْ تستطيع أنْ تكون سعيدًا بلا مملكة."
October 27, 2025
reread 2025: first time i've read this in five whole years; am now doing my masters am in a very different uni to where i studied this last. fucking so good. just read in english this time (a loeb) but this tarrant one is set for the course and i'm about to start working through it in latin. oh seneca. i can tell how obsessed you are with your motifs. and i just reread some lucan for this class the other week and there are so many shared themes and even lines between these two.
read in 2020: holy shit this was so good! sorry if i ever doubted u seneca. some of the most striking and poignant imagery in any roman play ive read. probably the most. woah, neronian violence!
could not help but notice the whole idea of cannibalised people always remaining with the one who ate them; atreus says this a couple times near the end of the play; 'no day shall ever take [your children] from you.' my point being yeah i thought of jeffrey dahmer.
read in 2020: holy shit this was so good! sorry if i ever doubted u seneca. some of the most striking and poignant imagery in any roman play ive read. probably the most. woah, neronian violence!
could not help but notice the whole idea of cannibalised people always remaining with the one who ate them; atreus says this a couple times near the end of the play; 'no day shall ever take [your children] from you.' my point being yeah i thought of jeffrey dahmer.
May 26, 2011
As befits a tragedy, "Thyestes" isn't a very hopeful story. I've read the play in translation before but the Latin really drives home Seneca's masterfully bloody language. Most scholarship denigrates Senecan tragedy and while I wouldn't say it supersedes or even equals some of the best Greek tragedies, "Thyestes" for one is definitely worth reading.
Never having read a Roman tragedy in the original language, I found Tarrant's edition really helpful for its supplementary material and assistance through some of the trickier choral odes.
Never having read a Roman tragedy in the original language, I found Tarrant's edition really helpful for its supplementary material and assistance through some of the trickier choral odes.
May 29, 2013
Lo bueno, si breve, dos veces bueno. Tragedia oscurísima sobre la historia de Tiestes, ese que se comió a sus propios hijos y el sol horrorizado por tal suceso no se atrevió a salir ese día.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2018
"أي صرخات أطلقها أنا البائس
وأي شكوى؟ أي كلمات تكفيني؟" - ثيستيس
وأي شكوى؟ أي كلمات تكفيني؟" - ثيستيس
June 12, 2023
A particularly lurid tragedy.
May 22, 2025
Hmmmm the sweet sweet smell of revenge. Or is that cannibalism?
“Kill everyone now! Condone first degree murder! Advocate cannibalism! Eat shit! Filth is my politics! Filth is my life!”
- Divine
“Kill everyone now! Condone first degree murder! Advocate cannibalism! Eat shit! Filth is my politics! Filth is my life!”
- Divine
Read
December 22, 2021gejmotrouns spavaš li mirno???
June 7, 2022
3.5 rounded down, a lot of long monologues but a terrifying, Gothic story
September 30, 2023
Shockingly dark and I loved every word of it. I could easily imagine finding this play on Hannibal Lecter’s shelf.
November 23, 2024
love seneca
this was rly gross, I loved the messenger scene
this was rly gross, I loved the messenger scene
Read
November 23, 2024this was gory and insane and terrifying. seneca does not mess around
February 13, 2025
dang artreus does not come to play
February 20, 2025
this is my favorite play we’ve read in class so far - so so so so amazing I can’t even begin to describe in this short review so I’ll just leave this with: that was such an incredible read.
April 21, 2025
cannibalism is never the answer!
November 16, 2019
Sêneca escreveu, além de um conjunto relativamente grande de obras filosóficas, algumas peças de teatro – 9.
Aqui, temos a expressão da teoria política de Sêneca. Conhecido por ser um dos homens mais ricos (ou talvez o mais) de Roma, ao longo de parte considerável da sua vida adulta, ele esteve bem próximo ao topo do Poder.
Muito é desconhecido da sua real ligação com Nero do qual foi preceptor. Isso é especialmente verdade em relação aos anos finais do imperador romano, quando a contagem de cadáveres aumenta.
Parece que Sêneca fechou os olhos quando Nero matou o próprio irmão – Britânico – mas teria tentado se afastar depois que o imperador matou a própria mãe – Agripina. De qualquer modo, as ideias políticas de Sêneca, apresentadas em “Sobre a Clemência”, vão ter um veículo em suas peças. Há, ainda, hoje, não se sabe se elas eram representadas ou se eram apenas para leitura. De qualquer modo, serviram como meio de expressão de suas ideias.
Em Tiestes, está representado o longo conflito da família de Tântalo e que continuou com a luta entre seus netos Atreu e Tiestes. Atreu é o tirano total, preocupado não apenas em se vingar do irmão, mas, principalmente em ter uma vingança inesquecível pela crueldade e vileza. Consegue e a maldição que assombra a família continuará pelas gerações seguintes.
A tradução, evidentemente, tem um viés acadêmico bastante claro, inclusive em relação à métrica. No entanto, acho que em alguns momentos alguns termos mais usuais poderiam ter sido utilizados para que o leitor pudesse ter uma experiência mais interessante.
Uma escolha editorial me incomodou. As notas de rodapé (e são muitas!) foram postas após o texto da peça, o que, prejudica a leitura. Imagino que não seria fácil, porque é uma edição bilingue, mas poderiam ter colocado as palavras ao longo do texto principal.
De qualquer modo, parabéns à editora e aos tradutores, que disponibilizaram essa obra de Sêneca para nós brasileiros.
Aqui, temos a expressão da teoria política de Sêneca. Conhecido por ser um dos homens mais ricos (ou talvez o mais) de Roma, ao longo de parte considerável da sua vida adulta, ele esteve bem próximo ao topo do Poder.
Muito é desconhecido da sua real ligação com Nero do qual foi preceptor. Isso é especialmente verdade em relação aos anos finais do imperador romano, quando a contagem de cadáveres aumenta.
Parece que Sêneca fechou os olhos quando Nero matou o próprio irmão – Britânico – mas teria tentado se afastar depois que o imperador matou a própria mãe – Agripina. De qualquer modo, as ideias políticas de Sêneca, apresentadas em “Sobre a Clemência”, vão ter um veículo em suas peças. Há, ainda, hoje, não se sabe se elas eram representadas ou se eram apenas para leitura. De qualquer modo, serviram como meio de expressão de suas ideias.
Em Tiestes, está representado o longo conflito da família de Tântalo e que continuou com a luta entre seus netos Atreu e Tiestes. Atreu é o tirano total, preocupado não apenas em se vingar do irmão, mas, principalmente em ter uma vingança inesquecível pela crueldade e vileza. Consegue e a maldição que assombra a família continuará pelas gerações seguintes.
A tradução, evidentemente, tem um viés acadêmico bastante claro, inclusive em relação à métrica. No entanto, acho que em alguns momentos alguns termos mais usuais poderiam ter sido utilizados para que o leitor pudesse ter uma experiência mais interessante.
Uma escolha editorial me incomodou. As notas de rodapé (e são muitas!) foram postas após o texto da peça, o que, prejudica a leitura. Imagino que não seria fácil, porque é uma edição bilingue, mas poderiam ter colocado as palavras ao longo do texto principal.
De qualquer modo, parabéns à editora e aos tradutores, que disponibilizaram essa obra de Sêneca para nós brasileiros.
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