Medea

Seneca was born sometime between 1 and 4 CE and died in 65 CE. He lived through the often violent and tumultuous reigns of some of the most notorious Roman emperors, including Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. After a childhood and youth marked by illness, Seneca began to achieve fame as an orator and writer in the 30s. He earned the enmity of Emperor Caligula, who mistrusted Seneca’s potential power. After Claudius became emperor in 41 CE, Seneca was accused of having an affair with a woman named Julia Livilla, who was Caligula’s sister and Claudius’s niece. Seneca was sentenced to exile, and spent the years 42-50 CE in Corsica. Seneca’s exile and enforced isolation may have influenced his portrayal of foreign characters like Medea, who lament and mourn for their homeland.

In 50 CE, Seneca was summoned back to Rome by Agrippina, who had just married Claudius and become the Empress of Rome. Agrippina—the sister of Julia Livilla—was the mother of the future Emperor Nero, and she wanted Seneca to tutor her son. Seneca became the tutor and close advisor of Nero, who became Emperor in 54. However, Nero became notorious for his volatile, dangerous, and self-indulgent behavior, leaving Seneca frequently torn between his own ethical and philosophical principles and the necessity of staying in Nero’s good graces. After a plot was uncovered to kill Nero, Seneca was implicated and was ordered to kill himself in 65. He died in an elaborately-staged suicide deliberately reminiscent of Socrates and other famous philosophers.

Tragedies were being written in ancient Rome as early as 240 BCE; there was also an earlier tradition of Classical Greek tragedies, including famous plays by authors such as Sophocles and Euripides. While there are references to a number of tragedies by different Roman authors, the only Roman tragedies to survive intact are Seneca’s. Seneca was undoubtedly influenced by the Greek tradition, especially since all of the tragedies he wrote had a Greek antecedent, but he was likely also shaped by the Roman plays that had been written more recently.

Roman drama usually adapted some of the features common to classic Greek drama: for example, Seneca uses the convention of a chorus—a group of speakers who comment on the dramatic action—but modifies the role they play. It is unclear to what extent Roman dramas were “performed” or whether they were written to be read. Seneca’s plays do not contain any stage directions, although they have been successfully performed in various adaptations. Seneca’s dramatic techniques, such as the use of a five-act structure and monologues to reveal the psychological states of his characters, were highly influential for the subsequent development of European drama. His plays were translated into various languages in the 15th and 16th centuries and widely read.