Six Tragedies
Page 31
Proserpine (Persephone) from the underworld.
650 wound the long thread on the twisting path: a reference to Theseus’ first
adventure, his journey to Crete, where Ariadne guided him through the
Labyrinth and he killed the Minotaur.
654 my Apollo: as granddaughter to Helios, the Sun-god, Phaedra lays claim
to the Olympian Sun-god, Apollo.
656 even his enemy’s heart: Ariadne, Phaedra’s sister, who should have been
Theseus’ enemy, fell in love with him.
663 heavenly vault: Ariadne became a star.
671 Great ruler of gods: Jupiter, king of the gods, who controls thunder and
lightning.
688 your mother’s: see note to line 113.
697 the Colchian: Medea, who was from Colchis, on the eastern side of the
Black Sea.
* * *
notes to phaedra, pages 22–31
217
709 Diana of the crossbow: the huntress goddess was famous for her skill at
archery.
715 Tanais . . . Maeotis: rivers (in modern Russia, and on the Black Sea) that
mark the ultimate eastern boundaries of the Roman empire.
718 not even Neptune . . . a sin: Shakespeare uses this passage in Macbeth:
‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood|Clean from my
hand? No, this my hand would rather|The multitudinous seas
incarnadine,|Making the green one red’ (II. ii. 59–62).
752 Hesperus . . . Lucifer: the Evening Star, which is also the Morning Star.
753 thyrsus: the ivy wand traditionally carried by Bacchus (Dionysus) and
his followers.
756 horned head: in Hellenistic times Bacchus was often represented with
horns, perhaps because of his association with bulls.
760 loved somebody more than Bacchus: Theseus. In the more usual version of
the story, Phaedra’s sister, Ariadne, was abandoned by Theseus on Naxos,
and only then rescued by Bacchus. Seneca’s Chorus seems to adopt an
alternative version, in which Ariadne abandons Bacchus for Theseus.
781 who have a habit of catching pretty boys: a reference to Hylas, boy lover
of Hercules, who was abducted by water nymphs on an island stopover
while on the voyage of the Argo.
792 cymbals: traditionally believed to counteract witchcraft.
810 Cyllarus: the horse of Castor, brother of Pollux (the twin Dioscuri).
In Virgil, Georgics, 3. 90, the horse is represented as belonging
to Castor; Seneca corrects Virgil, since traditionally Castor was the
horseman, Pollux the boxer.
838 Eleusis . . . gift: a reference to the rites held at the shrine to Ceres and
Proserpine, goddesses associated with the harvest. Corn was said to have
been given to Triptolemus, king of Eleusis, by Ceres. This is a highly
allusive way of saying ‘after four years’, i.e. after four harvest-times.
839 weighed out day to match the night: at the equinox day and night are the
same length.
904 the second lot: alludes to the tradition that the three parts of the world — sky,
sea, and underworld — were assigned to the three brother gods by lot:
Jupiter got the sky, Poseidon the sea, Hades the underworld.
927 Antiope: Theseus’ first wife, Hippolytus’ Amazon mother. If he had not
killed her, Theseus suggests, then Hippolytus might have slept with her.
942 my ocean father: Neptune (Poseidon).
1014 Auster . . . Corus . . . Leucate: Auster is the south wind, Corus is the
north-west wind. Leucate is a promontory of the island of Leucas, in
the Ionian Sea — an area known for its storminess.
1022 Asclepius: son of Apollo, the god of healing.
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218
notes to phaedra, pages 31–36
1023 Sciron: a highway robber who made people bathe his feet and, while
they were doing it, kicked them over a cliff where they were killed by a
giant tortoise. He was killed by Theseus, and Ovid tells the story that
his bones turned into the crags (Metamorphoses, 7. 444 – 7).
1024 promontory of land: the Isthmus of Corinth.
1067 My father’s job is conquering wild bulls: Theseus killed the Minotaur
(half-bull, half-man), and the Bull of Marathon.
1092 Phaethon: son of the Sun. He begged his father to let him drive his
chariot one day, but the boy could not control the horses and was
thrown down to his death.
1136 Mother Goddess: Cybele. The woods on Mount Ida, in the Troad, con-
tained a place dedicated to Cybele.
1153 the books are balanced: because Hippolytus has replaced Theseus in the
underworld.
1165 you always bring disaster: when Theseus went to Crete to kill the
Minotaur, his father, Aegeus, told him to raise white sails on his ship on
its return, to show that he was still alive. Theseus forgot to do this, and
Aegeus killed himself when he saw the ship.
1167 in love or hatred for your wives: Theseus killed his first wife, the Amazon
mother of Hippolytus, in hatred. He has now destroyed his home again
because of his love for Phaedra.
1170 Sinis . . . Procrustes . . . Cretan bull: various villains and monsters killed
by Theseus. Sinis used trees to pull apart his victims (see note to line
1224). Procrustes murdered his guests by hammering them to a bed.
The Cretan Bull is the Minotaur, trapped in the Labyrinth created by
Daedalus.
1180 the fiery river: Phlegethon, one of the four rivers of the underworld.
1181 I want to do right by the dead: Phaedra combines two traditional religious
practices: she cuts and tears her hair as if in mourning for the dead, but
she simultaneously prepares herself for death (as Iris in Virgil’s Aeneid,
Book 4, prepares Dido for death by cutting her hair).
1201 Taenarus: an entrance to the underworld.
1202 Lethe . . . Cocytus: Lethe was one of the rivers of the underworld, whose
waters caused forgetfulness (which is welcome to the unhappy dead).
Cocytus is another underworld river, known for its sluggish waters.
1205 Proteus: sea-god known for his ability to change shape at will.
1207 Father: Neptune (Poseidon), Theseus’ divine father, who also helped
him to abandon Ariadne on Naxos.
1212 all three kingdoms: sea, sky, and underworld, won by the three divine
brothers, Poseidon, Jupiter, and Hades (see note to line 904).
1224 Should a pine tree be bent . . . branches: Theseus suggests that he should
be killed by one of those whom he defeated in his heroic past. Murder-
by-pine-tree was characteristic of Sinis. Seneca conflates two different
* * *
notes to oedipus, pages 36–49
219
legends about how exactly the killing worked. One version suggests that
the hands of the victim were bound to one tree, legs to another, and the
victim was thus torn apart. Alternatively, a single tree was used: the
victim was catapulted into the air by the tree, and died from his fall.
Seneca includes both the catapulting and the tearing apart.
1228 I know what punishment I will get, and where: because Theseus has
already been to the underworld.
1237 Sisyphus . . . Let the water mock . . . Tityos . . . the wheel: the passage cites
four of the most famous punishments of the underworld. Sisyphus had
> to push a rock up a hill, and every time it almost reached the top it rolled
to the bottom again. Tantalus was always thirsty, always hungry: he had
a stream of water and a bunch of grapes always just beyond his grasp.
Tityos had his liver pecked out every day by a savage bird: every night
it grew back and the same thing happened again. Ixion, father of
Pirithous, was bound to a wheel and whirled around forever.
OEDIPUS
29 Cadmus: the legendary founder of Thebes. After Cadmus’ daughter,
Agave, killed her own son, Pentheus, who had rejected the rites of Bacchus
(Dionysus), Cadmus was driven out of the city and turned into a snake.
44 Apollo’s sister: Diana, the moon-goddess.
119 Parthians . . . fly: Parthian archers used to fired arrows over their
shoulders while riding away from the enemy (the ‘Parthian shot’).
129 seven gates: the city of Thebes had seven entrances.
166 ferryman: Charon, who carried the dead across the river Styx to the land
of Hades.
171 the Dog: Cerberus, guard-dog of the underworld.
192 Holy Fire: i.e. ignis sacer, a skin disease similar to erysipelas,
‘St Anthony’s Fire’.
250 and you: the gods in the following list are: Jupiter, lord of the sky; Apollo,
the sun-god; Diana, his sister, the moon-goddess; Neptune, god of the
sea; and Pluto/Hades, lord of the underworld (who provides dark homes
for the dead).
282 double seas: Corinth; the double seas are those on either side of the
Isthmus of Corinth.
298 I would let the god possess me: i.e. if he were younger Tiresias would allow
the god to speak directly through his body and voice, like a spirit medium,
instead of using divination.
315 Iris: goddess of the rainbow.
335 scatter the salted meal: in Roman religious ritual the sacrificial victim was
purified by having its head sprinkled with a mixture of brine and spelt,
traditionally prepared by vestal virgins.
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220
notes to oedipus, pages 50–57
363 the bad side: diviners divided entrails into two areas: the lucky and the
unlucky sides.
393 Erebus: Hell.
420 pretending to be a blonde-haired teenage girl: Juno was jealous of Jupiter’s
love-affairs with mortals. When Bacchus, son of Jupiter, was born from
Semele, he was hidden disguised as a girl.
441 after mangling Pentheus: Pentheus, king of Thebes, refused to accept
Bacchus as a god. In revenge, Bacchus drove Agave and her companions
mad as they worshipped him on the mountains, and they tore apart
Agave’s son Pentheus, under the belief that he was a wild animal.
444 Ino: after Bacchus’ mother Semele was killed by the thunder of her lover,
Jupiter, Semele’s sister Ino raised the boy. She was later transformed into
a sea-goddess.
447 Palaemon: also known as Melicertes, son of Ino, who became a
sea-god.
448 barbarian pirates: Bacchus, captured by pirates, turned himself into vari-
ous wild animals, including a lion and a tiger; he also turned the masts and
oars into snakes, and covered the ship with vines; the sailors went crazy,
jumped overboard, and were turned into dolphins.
486 daughters of Proetus: in Argos, Bacchus drove the daughters of King
Proetus mad, and they wandered in the woods thinking they were cows.
The city of Argos then accepted the god — despite the fact that the city
belonged to Juno (Hera), Bacchus’ resentful stepmother.
489 the girl: Ariadne, abandoned on Naxos by Theseus, rescued by Bacchus.
498 The new bride: Ariadne, installed as a constellation in the sky.
502 hates the thunder: Bacchus’ mother Semele asked to see her lover in his
true form, but when Jupiter complied she was destroyed by his thunder;
Jupiter rescued her foetus and carried him to term in his own thigh.
540 through the vast ocean: alder was used for making boats.
560 Guardian of the Lake of Lethe: Cerberus, guard-dog of Hell.
588 the soldier brothers . . . teeth: Cadmus sowed dragon’s teeth, which sprang
up as armed men.
611 Zethus . . . Amphion: twin sons of Jupiter, who built the city walls of
Thebes. Dirce, wife of the tyrant Lycus, had treated their mother cruelly
for many years; when the brothers grew up they tied her to the horns of
a bull. Amphion was a great musician, and his music was powerful
enough to lift the rocks to build the walls.
615 Niobe . . . her ghosts: punished for boasting that she had borne more chil-
dren than Leto — mother of Apollo and Diana — by having all her chil-
dren killed, Niobe now, in the land of the dead, is reunited with them.
616 Agave . . . crazy: daughter of Cadmus; inspired with divine madness by
Bacchus, she killed her son Pentheus (see note to line 29).
* * *
notes to oedipus, pages 60–67
221
712 Cadmus came from Sidon: searching for his sister Europa, abducted by
Jupiter.
713 Dirce’s waters: the fountain in Thebes.
714 Tyrians: Cadmus’ companions, people of Tyre.
716 his sister: Europa, abducted by Jupiter in the form of a bull.
718 that same god: Jupiter.
719 An oracle: the Delphic oracle told Cadmus to follow a heifer until it lay
down, and to make his home in that place.
722 Boeotia: from Greek bous (Latin bos) meaning ‘cow’ or ‘ox’.
730 Chaonian treetops: oaks.
731 still resting much of his body on the ground: these lines refer to the legend
that Cadmus, arriving at the location of the future city of Thebes,
encountered a dragon which guarded the fountain of Dirce, sacred to
Ares/Mars, god of war. He killed the dragon, and was told by the goddess
Athena to sow its teeth in the ground. From the teeth sprang up a throng
of armed men, who immediately began fighting each other. Only five
survived, and these helped Cadmus build the city.
741 Lucifer: literally, ‘the light-bearer’, another name for the Morning Star,
the planet Venus.
751 the hunter: Actaeon, grandson of Cadmus. He saw the goddess Diana
bathing naked. In revenge, the goddess turned him into a stag and he was
killed by his own hounds.
763 goddess: Diana.
813 You got your name . . . feet: the exposed baby had his feet pierced, to pre-
vent him from toddling away. One of the etymological legends about the
name ‘Oedipus’ suggests that it comes from the Greek words oidao, ‘to
swell’, and pous, ‘foot’: so the name means ‘Swollen-footed’, as in Shelley’s
Swell-foot the Tyrant. The other traditional interpretation is that it comes
from pous, ‘foot’, and oida, ‘to know’: Oedipus is then ‘Know-foot’, the one
who knows enough about feet to solve the riddle of the Sphinx.
825 [jocasta]: the manuscripts attribute these lines to the Old Man.
Zwierlein and other scholars attribute this intervention, and the follow-
up remarks, to Jocasta, because in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus it is she
who tries to prevent Oedipus from discovering the full truth.
893 the mad boy: Icarus, who tried to fly on wings made by his father Daedalus,
when escaping
from the king of Crete. He flew too close to the sun, caus-
ing his wax wings to melt, and fell into the sea and drowned; the sea was
renamed the Icarian Sea.
986 Lachesis: one of the three Fates, who spin the destinies of all people.
995 [Epilogue]: unlike most of Seneca’s tragedies, Oedipus is structured in six
sections, not fi ve. The fi nal section can be seen as a kind of epilogue.
* * *
222
notes to medea, pages 73–76
MEDEA
3 the first ship: the Argo.
5 Titan: the sun-god.
7 Hecate triple-formed: goddess associated with witchcraft and the moon.
She is ‘triple-formed’ because her power extends to heaven, earth, and
the underworld.
11 master of the melancholy realm, and queen: Hades, god of the underworld,
and Persephone.
12 abducted . . . but he kept his word to you: Persephone was stolen by Hades
to be his wife, and she still rules the underworld for six months of the
year; Hades was thus a more honourable rapist than Jason, who stole
Medea and now abandons her.
17 you stood round my marriage bed: Medea imagines that the Furies must
have been in attendance at her doomed marriage.
29 my grandfather: Medea is the daughter of Aeetes, son of the Sun.
43 your own cruel home: the mountain-range of the Caucasus, which
bordered on Medea’s home city, Colchis, was famous for its harshness;
the inhabitants of the Caucasus were believed to be particularly fierce and
inhospitable.
60 the royal Thunderer: Jupiter.
63 the goddess who restrains . . . Mars: the goddess of peace, Pax.
67 you, who bless all legal weddings: Hymen, god of marriage.
71 the messenger of double times: Lucifer, who heralds ‘double times’ because
he is both the Morning and the Evening Star.
79 the city without a wall: Sparta. Spartan women notoriously exercised like
men, unlike the women of other Greek cities.
81 Alpheus: a river that runs through the Peloponnese. It was sacred to
Jupiter.
83 Aeson’s son: Jason.
84 the child of thunder: Bacchus (Dionysus), son of Jupiter, the thunder-god;
Bacchus’ mother, Semele, was struck by a thunderbolt when Jupiter
appeared to her in his true form.