is the lone drama surviving from antiquity exemplifying the genre
fabula praetexta, or Roman history play. Preserved along with nine other plays ascribed to Lucius Annaeus Seneca (in one family of medieval manuscripts labeled ‘A’ by scholars of the Senecan dramatic corpus),
Octaviaevokes and references Senecan tragedy, but cannot be the work of Seneca. The drama portrays the historic moment of the Roman Emperor Nero’s decision (made in early June of 62 CE) to divorce and expel his first wife, Octavia, from Rome’s imperial palace (and ultimately to execute her), and thereupon to replace her with a new wife, Poppaea Sabina. Seneca himself is portrayed in the drama as Nero’s disengaged and ineffective advisor whose naïve and idealistic political philosophy is dismissed by…
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Citation: Smith, Joseph. "Octavia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 January 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=33497, accessed 12 December 2024.]