Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Phoenissae

Marica Frank

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 (The American University of Paris)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 65

Places

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

Genres and Modes

Play
Tragedy

Resources

The Phoenissae is likely to have been the last of Seneca’s dramas, probably written in or after 62AD. It is incomplete, consisting of only 664 lines of iambic trimeter. It also lacks a chorus and a final act (but see Tarrant 1978 for the view that the play is complete as it stands and was intended by Seneca as a dramatic experiment). The play can be divided into four acts (lines 1-319, 320-362, 363-442, 443-664), but the more obvious division is into two parts (so Hirschberg 1989). Lines 1-362 are set on a path in the wild countryside outside Thebes, possibly on Mt. Cithaeron itself. They deal with the anguish of the exiled and blind Oedipus who is anticipating the armed struggle for power between his sons, Eteocles and …

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858 words

Citation: Frank, Marica. "Phoenissae". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 March 2013 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34723, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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