Two Tragedies of Seneca; Medea and The Daughters of Troy

Medea is a fabula crepidata (Roman tragedy with Greek subject) of about 1027 lines of verse written by Seneca. It is generally considered to be the strongest of his earlier plays. It was written around 50 CE. The play is about the vengeance of Medea ... Read more

Medea is a fabula crepidata (Roman tragedy with Greek subject) of about 1027 lines of verse written by Seneca. It is generally considered to be the strongest of his earlier plays. It was written around 50 CE. The play is about the vengeance of Medea against her betraying husband Jason and King Creon. The leading role, Medea, delivers over half of the play's lines. Medea addresses many themes, one being that the title character represents "payment" for humans' transgression of natural laws. She was sent by the gods to punish Jason for his sins. Another theme is her powerful voice that cannot be silenced, not even by King Creon. Troades (The Trojan Women) is a fabula crepidata (Roman tragedy with Greek subject) of c. 1179 lines of verse written by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. 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. Less