Seneca's 'Phoenissae' : introduction and commentary

Abstract

The Introduction deals primarily with issues regarding Seneca's Phoenissae specifically, but includes some discussion of more general questions. It consists of the following sections: 1. Title (in which the problem of the two titles, Phoenissae and Thebais, is considered); 2. The Nature and Structure of the Work (which includes discussion of; the unity and state of completion of the Phoenissae, the question of the absence of a chorus, the possibility that the prologue is missing, the ending of the play, Seneca's dramatic purpose); 3. Seneca's Treatment of the Theban Legend (in which Seneca's debt to both his dramatic and non-dramatic precursors is discussed); 4. Philosophy, Rhetoric and Politics in the Phoenissae; 5. Staging (in which there is a general consideration of the question, followed by a discussion of the particular difficulties involved in the Phoenissae); 6. Chronology (which deals with the problem of dating Seneca's plays and the criteria for establishing a relative chronology). The Commentary is a line-by-line literary analysis of the Phoenissae, which includes discussion of syntactical, metrical, textual and philological questions. It is based on the 1986 OCT text of Otto Zwierlein.