De Scelere

​Jealousy, betrayal, revenge, murder, cannibalism, the struggle for power. These are some of the themes in the ancient drama Thyestes by Seneca the Younger, which we will be reading together this summer. If you like Game of Thrones, you’ll like this play, which is about the contentious relationship between brothers, Atreus and Thyestes.
 
They are part of the legendary House of Atreus, which you may have learned about in your Latin class. The family is cursed when Tantalus tries to feed his son, Pelops, to the gods. Pelops is the father of our characters, whose crimes we will return to in a moment. Atreus is the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, the leaders of the Greeks in the Trojan War. You will learn about Agamemnon’s terrible deeds in Princeps’ class this summer. The curse ends when Agamemnon’s son, Orestes, murders his mother, Clytemnestra, because she murdered Agamemnon. Confused? Yeah, the family’s pretty complicated.
 
It’s complicated between Atreus and Thyestes, too. Thyestes was having an affair with Atreus’ wife and used her to take the throne of Mycenae. Atreus, betrayed and full of rage, took the throne back and banished his brother. It is at this point that our play begins. Atreus feels the need for more vengeance, so he comes up with an evil plan. On the pretense of reconciliation, he invites Thyestes and his sons back to Mycenae. He then commits what Seneca calls both nefas and scelus: he murders his nephews, turns them into stew, and tricks Thyestes into eating them.
 
Seems excessive, right? That’s one of the many things Seneca wanted out of this play. Seneca was an advisor to the (infamous) emperor, Nero, as well as a Stoic philosopher. Stoicism focuses on controlling one’s emotions, which Nero struggled with and the character Atreus does, too. Though this is an oversimplification of the brilliance of Thyestes, it can be viewed as a cautionary tale about the consequences of giving into emotion.
 
Seneca’s philosophical works include De Ira, De Brevitate Vitae, and De Clementia. I would like for us to look at the philosophical themes of Seneca’s tragedy, which is why I titled this class De Scelere.
 
Get ready for some dark, gruesome, and thought-provoking reading. If you’re interested in doing some reading before Academy begins, I recommend any of Seneca’s tragedies (particularly Troades and Medea). It might also be helpful for you to read up on the House of Atreus if you do not have much background in mythology. Seneca had a fascinating life, so you might also be interested in reading about him.
 
I look forward to meeting you in a few weeks!
 
-Magistra Carroll