List of Illustrations Dedication Acknowledgments Preface Chapter 1. Introducing Hercules Furens Chapter 2. Major Themes in Hercules Furens Chapter 3. Monster-slayer, moral exemplar, and madman: Hercules' ancient roles Chapter 4. Hercules Furens and Seneca’s career Chapter 5. Performance and Reception Further reading Bibliography Chronology Glossary of Greek and Latin terms
A new volume in this series of companions to ancient drama, this is the first accessible introduction to Seneca's great play Hercules Furens and its later reception.
Neil W. Bernstein is Professor of Classics and World Religions, Ohio University, USA. He has written extensively on Roman literature and identity, including In the Image of the Ancestors: Narratives of Kinship in Flavian Epic (2008) and Ethics, Identity, and Community in Later Roman Declamation (2013).
This slender yet richly informative book does much to cultivate
greater appreciation for Seneca’s Hercules Furens … Its prose is
lucid, engaging, and remarkably well-edited (I did not notice a
single typographical error), and it offers a wealth of insights and
a multiplicity of perspectives on Hercules Furens, and on
representations of Hercules in Greek and Roman antiquity and
beyond. It should inspire more people to read and teach this
underappreciated play. One can envision it being effectively
utilized in an undergraduate Advanced Latin Course focusing on
Hercules Furens, or in an undergraduate mythology course that looks
closely at the figure of Hercules.
*New England Classical Journal*
Illuminating … thorough and precise … This study may prove of
interest, not only as an introductory guide to students of theatre
and of Roman political and cultural history, but to all interested
in specific topics such as the societal interplay of writing,
spectacle, ideology, performance, and power. I believe also that
its reading will enhance the understanding not just of ancient
drama, but also of its post-classical revival.
*Bryn Mawr Classical Review*
[Seneca: Hercules Furens] provides concise, but informative and
engaging discussions of the themes of the play, stylistic and
rhetorical elements, modern critical approaches, historical
context, literary and philosophical traditions, and performance …
The audience for whom Bernstein’s book is designed will find it an
excellent and welcome resource.
*Classical Journal*
[Bernstein's] fine introduction will be an excellent guide to
students and their instructors who may have been raised on the
Disney cartoon and are ready for something more.
*The Classical Review*
This volume is very recommendable ... It is an excellent reading
guide.
*Revue des Etudes Anciennes (Bloomsbury Translation)*
Bernstein’s study will become a go-to resource for understanding
the Hercules Furens, its complex relationship to Rome’s political,
cultural, and literary milieu, and its decisive impact on the
dramatic tradition.
*Lauren Donovan Ginsberg, Assistant Professor of Classics,
University of Cincinnati, USA*
Bernstein offers strong and persuasive readings of the Hercules
Furens in its various contexts (e.g. philosophical, performance,
historical). It will be both useful and enjoyable for students and
scholars of Seneca and the theatrical tradition.
*Christopher Trinacty, Assistant Professor of Classics, Oberlin
College, USA*
No Roman playwright before Seneca had dared to tackle the grim tale
of Hercules’ slaughter of his wife and sons after successfully
completing his twelve labours. Bernstein admirably explains why
Seneca chose to confront the issues latent in the myth, such as the
nature of courage and masculinity, the justification of suicide,
the influence of family and ancestry, the moralized landscape. He
contextualizes these themes by sourcing them in Seneca’s
philosophical writings. Bernstein is in full command of all the
recent scholarship devoted to the play, and he subjects it to clear
and fair-minded assessment. Notable is his convincing
interpretation of the opening speech of the goddess Juno as key to
the interpretation of the action which unfolds in the drama.
Finally, he shows how the trajectory of Seneca’s Hercules from
‘hero to zero’ has been adapted in contemporary theatre to
highlight the veteran’s difficulty in reintegrating into a
peacetime community.
*Roland Mayer, Emeritus Professor of Classics, King’s College
London, UK*
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