Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Troades

Christopher Trinacty (Oberlin College)

Ed. by William John Dominik, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 50

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Seneca's play,

Troades

, explores the consequences of war, in this case the Trojan war, for both the victors and the defeated. The women and children of Troy, a huddled mass awaiting slavery and execution, gather together one final time for solace, and their laments and suffering make up the body of the tragedy. The play is a re-imagining of two Euripidean plays (

Troades

and

Hecuba

), but Seneca's style and poetics mark it as a product of the Neronian Renaissance – an explosion of creative literary and artistic activity sponsored by and responding to the emperor Nero (ruled 54-68). During this period authors renovated Augustan poetic genres (Lucan in epic, Persius in satire, Calpurnius Siculus in pastoral, Seneca in tragedy), updating them to reflect contemporary tastes and

mores

.…

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1949 words

Citation: Trinacty, Christopher . "Troades". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 May 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13465, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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