by Seneca
87 the fearsome virgin’s brother: Apollo, who shakes the tripods of the oracles;
he is the brother of the virgin goddess, Diana (Artemis).
89 Castor . . . Pollux: twin sons of Jupiter; Castor was known for his horse-
riding, Pollux for his boxing.
97 Phoebe: Diana, the moon-goddess.
109 Abusing masters . . . allowed: licensed mockery was a traditional element in
both Greek and Roman marriage celebrations.
131 The golden glory . . . stolen: the Golden Fleece, stolen by Jason with the
help of Medea.
* * *
notes to medea, pages 76–86
223
132 the wicked girl’s young playmate . . . sword: the ‘wicked girl’ is Medea her-
self; her ‘playmate’ is her brother Aspyrtus, whom she dismembered,
scattering the pieces behind the Argo, as she and Jason escaped, to delay
the pursuit of her father, Aeetes.
134 Pelias . . . pot: Jason’s hostile uncle, whom Medea killed by persuading his
daughters that they could make him immortal by putting him in a pot of
boiling water.
148 Malea: one of the three southern promontories of the Peloponnese.
Medea implies that her revenge will be so enormous that it will be seen
even in very distant places.
169 earth-born soldiers: a reference to the dragon’s teeth which Jason threw
into the ground, and they sprang up as armed men. On Medea’s advice,
Jason threw a stone into the middle of the army, and the men began
attacking each other.
215 women warriors: the Amazons, who lived on the river Thermodon.
257 Acastus: the son of Pelias. After Medea tricked his sisters into killing their
father, Acastus tried to take revenge on both her and Jason.
315 the slow old man . . . controls: the Plough (the Big Dipper) was supposed
to be steered by another set of stars, Bootes, the old ploughman.
351 Scylla: the mythical sea-monster, who lived between Sicily and Italy; she
had six heads and the voice of a dog, and she ate sailors — including some
of Odysseus’ men (Odyssey, 12. 85 – 100).
378 Thule: land lying north of Britain, perhaps Iceland or Norway, tradition-
ally believed to be the farthest northern part of the world.
408 Charybdis: a monstrous whirlpool, located opposite the rocks of Scylla,
which threatened Odysseus and his men.
409 Titan: one of the Titans, either Typhoeus or Enceladus — was imprisoned
under Mount Etna.
456 the Clashing Rocks: two rocks that moved together, crushing ships
between them. The Argo had to pass between them.
457 your uncle’s lands: Pelias, king of Iolchos (see note to line 201).
466 the bull: the first test set for Jason by King Aeetes, in order to earn the
Golden Fleece, was yoking his fire-breathing oxen.
467 a never-conquered race: the people of Colchis, known for their wildness.
468 the field of armoured men: see note to line 169.
471 Phrixean rain: Phrixus, with his sister Helle, was going to be sacrificed by
their father, but a golden ram saved them; when Phrixus reached Colchis
he sacrificed the ram to Zeus, and hung its fleece in a tree.
472 the sleepless monster: the dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece; Medea
put it to sleep by her magic.
473 my brother: see note to line 132.
476 that old man: Pelias (see note to line 134).
* * *
224
notes to medea, pages 86–91
477 [I left my realm behind . . . someone else’s.]: some editors omit this line on
the grounds that it interrupts the sequence of thought.
512 Phoebus . . . Sisyphus: Medea is descended from the Sun (Phoebus Apollo,
god of the sun). Sisyphus, notorious for his wickedness, was the founder
of Corinth, the forefather of Creon and his daughter.
577 Hecate: see note to line 7.
579 [chorus]: this choral ode is in sapphics; I have tried to echo the
metrical pattern in English.
584 Hister: the lower Danube.
590 Haemus: a mountain-range in Thrace.
599 that boy: Phaethon, who tried to drive the chariot of his father, the Sun.
607 that daring vessel: the Argo.
609 Pelion’s mountain glades: the Argo was built of wood from Mount Pelion.
617 Tiphys: the steersman of the Argo. Seneca, unlike other authors, implies
that he was king of Aulis.
625 Orpheus: child of the Muse Calliope and Apollo, another hero on the Argo.
He tried to rescue his wife, Eurydice, from the underworld. Hades had
ruled that he must not look back at her until they reached the sunlight,
but Orpheus did look back, and she was lost again, forever. Later Orpheus
was torn apart by Maenads, and his head drifted, still singing, down the
river Hebrus.
634 the two sons of the North Wind: Calais and Zetes, killed by Hercules because
they had persuaded the other Argonauts to leave him behind after he left
the ship to search for his lost lover, Hylas (see note to line 647).
635 the sea-god’s offspring: Periclymenus, killed by Hercules in his attack on
Pylos.
640 the cruel furnace: after he was poisoned by the agonizing shirt of Nessus,
Hercules built his own funeral pyre on Mount Oeta and threw himself
on it.
641 two destructive poisons: the poison shirt, given to Hercules by his wife
Deianira (under the mistaken belief that it was a love-potion), was tainted
with two different poisons: the blood of the centaur Nessus and that of the
Hydra (see note to line 776).
643 Ancaeus: another Argonaut, killed by the Calydonian boar.
644 Meleager: killed his uncles when they tried to seize the hide of the
Calydonian boar. His mother, Althea, killed him by putting on the fire a
magic log which held his life.
647 the young boy: Hylas, Hercules’ lover, seized by water nymphs on a stop-
over on the journey of the Argo.
652 Idmon: the seer on the Argo.
654 Mopsus: another Argonaut with prophetic powers.
* * *
notes to medea, pages 91–94
225
656 Thetis’ husband: Peleus, exiled several times.
658 Ajax: the ‘lesser’ Ajax — not the ‘great’ Ajax, son of Telemon — was the
son of Oileus, an Argonaut; Seneca’s Chorus suggest that Ajax’s death
was expiation for his father’s participiation on the Argo journey.
660 Nauplius: another Argonaut; he tried to attack the Greeks in revenge for
the death of his son, Palamedes.
662 wife: Alcestis agreed to die in exchange for her husband, Admetus, king
of Pherae.
695 the Bears: Medea lists a series of constellations: Ursa Major, Ursa Minor,
Ophiuchus, Hydra.
699 Python: the serpent who threatened Leto when she was pregnant with
Apollo and Diana; Apollo killed it in revenge.
707 Eryx’s rocks: a mountain in Sicily.
709 Prometheus’ blood: Prometheus was chained to a rock in the Caucasus, and
every day an eagle pecked out his liver.
720 Athos: a mountain in northern Greece.
721 Pangaeus’ ridges: Pangaeus is a mountain in Thrace.
724 Hydaspes: a tributary of the river Indus. It is said to be ‘bejewelled’
because India was thought to be rich in gems and treasu
re.
726 Baetis . . . country: Baetica was a Spanish province.
741 Dis: another name for Hades, god of the underworld.
742 Tartarus: strictly, the area under the underworld; here it seems to be used
by metonymy for the rivers of the underworld.
745 Ixion . . . Tantalus: famous sinners tormented in the underworld:
Ixion was bound onto a wheel forever, Tantalus was eternally thirsty but
never allowed to drink. Pirene is a fountain in Corinth, so Medea implies
that he can come and visit in Corinth.
747 Sisyphus: ancestor of Creon and Creusa; he is tormented in the
underworld by having to push a stone up a hill forever.
749 Danaids: the daughters of Danaus, fifty girls, all but one of whom
murdered their husbands on their wedding night. They were condemned
to fill leaky urns in the underworld forever. Their experience in husband-
killing will prove useful in Medea’s revenge against Jason.
751 all three: the moon, associated with the goddess Hecate, has three faces
because Hecate is often portrayed with three faces.
769 the Hyades: a cluster of five stars in Taurus, associated with rain.
770 Diana: the moon-goddess, also identified with Hecate, the dark magical
moon-goddess.
773 Typhon: the monster who attacked Jove (Jupiter), and was imprisoned
under Mount Etna. He had snakes growing from his body; these are
probably the ‘limbs’ that Medea uses.
* * *
226
notes to medea, pages 94–105
776 Nessus: a centaur who carried Deianira across the river Evenus. He tried
to rape her but was mortally wounded by Hercules, her husband. He gave
Deianira the poison that would kill Hercules.
777 Oeta: Hercules built his own funeral pyre on Mount Oeta (see note to
line 640).
780 Althaea: killed her son, Meleager, after he had killed her brothers (see
note to line 644).
782 Zetes: Calais and Zetes chased away the Harpies when they were torment-
ing the blind prophet, Phineus.
783 Stymphalian bird . . . Lernaean arrows: killed by Hercules as one of his
labours. He used arrows tipped with poison from the Lernaean Hydra.
791 Thessalian witches: said to use magic to draw down the moon.
795 cymbals of bronze: thought to counteract the effects of magic. They could
restore the moon to normal if its path was affected by witchcraft.
798 turf: used as a makeshift altar.
804 like corpses wear: the corpse was traditionally draped with a headband.
806 Maenad: a crazed female worshipper of Bacchus (Dionysus).
824 Prometheus: stole fire for mankind, and was punished for this by an eagle
who pecked out his ever-regenerating liver.
Mulciber: Vulcan (Hephaestus), god of fire.
826 Phaethon: Medea’s cousin once removed, because the Sun was his father,
Medea’s grandfather(see note to line 599).
828 Chimaera: a monster with a head like a lion, tail like a snake, and in the
middle a goat’s body from which came fire.
830 the bulls: the fire-breathing bulls that Jason used to sow the dragon’s teeth,
with Medea’s help.
831 Medusa: a snake-headed Gorgon, killed by Perseus.
913 ancestral treasure: the Golden Fleece.
914 the old man: Pelias (see note to line 134).
954 proud Niobe: boasted that she had more children (fourteen) than the goddess
Leto, who had only two, Apollo and Diana. Apollo and Diana took revenge
by killing all her children; she wept so much that she turned to stone.
TROJAN WOMEN
14 Pergamum: Troy.
29 my lord . . . Phrygia: Priam, Hecuba’s husband, the dead king of Troy and
its surrounded region (Phrygia).
31 the hero . . . fall: Hector. See note to line 189.
34 Cassandra: Hecuba’s daughter, was cursed with the ability to foresee the
future but never be believed.
* * *
notes to trojan women, pages 106–111
227
37 I was the first to prophesy in vain: when Hecuba was pregnant with Paris
she dreamed she gave birth to a firebrand — foreshadowing Paris’ role in
bringing about the Trojan War and the destruction of the city.
38 the cunning Ithacan hero and his friend: Ulysses and Diomedes, who raided
Troy at night (as described in Book 10 of the Iliad ).
39 Sinon’s lies: the Greek who used trickery to persuade the Trojans to take
the Wooden Horse into the city.
44 a king: Priam.
61 somebody: Agamemnon,who took Cassandra home.
62 they fear: Hecuba was fated to turn into a dog.
66 that terrible judge: Paris, exposed as a baby on Mount Ida, and raised by
shepherds there. He is the judge because he judged between the three god-
desses (Venus, Athena, and Juno). He chose Venus (Aphrodite), goddess
of love and sex, and was rewarded with the opportunity to carry off Helen,
the most beautiful woman in the world — which started the Trojan War.
71 Amyclae: the birthplace of Helen.
134 twice defeated: Troy had earlier been captured by Hercules.
137 the bow of Hercules: brought back to Troy by Philoctetes.
164 the Greeks are always stuck in a harbour: the first of many allusions in this
play to the time at the beginning of the war when the Greek fleet was
becalmed at Aulis, unable to sail for Troy. The winds came only when
Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, Iphigeneia.
177 its own Achilles: Achilles’ mother, Thetis, was a sea-goddess; hence
Achilles’ power over the ocean. Lines 176 and 177 are marked as spurious
by Zwierlein.
181 the lord of Thessaly: Achilles, who came from Thessaly.
184 Neptune’s . . . son: Cycnus, choked to death by Achilles.
186 Xanthus: Scamander, the river in Troy, which Achilles filled with Trojan
corpses.
189 Hector: Achilles killed Troy’s best champion, Hector, and dragged his
corpse around the city behind his chariot.
211 avoid the war: Achilles’ mother, Thetis, dressed him as a girl in the hope
that the disguise would prevent him from being taken to Troy, where she
knew he would be killed.
213 Nestor: one of the Greek leaders in the Iliad, famous for his great age.
215 Telephus: king of Mysia in Asia Minor, was wounded by Achilles, but
later healed by the rust from his spear.
219 Etion: father of Andromache.
222 Briseis and Chryseis: the captured Trojan women over whom Achilles and
Agamemnon argue in the Iliad. Agamemnon is forced to return his ori-
ginal concubine, Chryseis, to her father, and takes Achilles’ girl, Briseis,
instead. This is the cause of Achilles’ rage.
* * *
228
notes to trojan women, pages 111–116
227 Lyrnesos . . . The homes . . . Tenedos . . . Scyros . . . Lesbos . . . Cilla: all
places sacked by Achilles.
228 Caycus: a river in Mysia, where Achilles wounded Telephus.
239 Memnon: nephew of Priam and son of Dawn (Aurora); killed by Achilles.
242 even the sons of goddesses: Achilles’ mother was the goddess Thetis.
243 the savage Amazon: Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, with whom
Achilles fell in love as he killed her in battle.
248 a daughter: Iphigene
ia, killed by Agamemnon in order to launch the
Greek fleet against Troy (see note to line 164).
317 via Ajax and Ulysses: Priam came to Achilles in person to beg for the body
of his dead son Hector (Iliad, Book 24). Agamemnon sent an embassy,
including Ajax and Ulysses, to beg Achilles to return to fight for the
Greeks (Iliad, Book 9).
331 It is too late . . . wrong: refers again to Agamemnon’s killing of his daugh-
ter Iphigeneia.
333 Punishing them is legal: this was true under Roman law.
339 Scyros arrogance: Scyros is the island from which Achilles and Pyrrhus
came. The point at issue, here and throughout the passage, is how much
Pyrrhus resembles his father. Agamemnon accuses him of being proud
and wilful, like Achilles.
Brothers are brotherly there: a dig at the lack of brotherly love in the rela-
tionship of Agamemnon’s father, Atreus, and his uncle, Thyestes. Atreus
killed and cooked Thyestes’ children and served them up to him at a feast;
the story is the subject of Seneca’s tragedy Thyestes (below).
340 my cousin, the sea: Achilles’ mother, Thetis, was a sea-goddess, so Pyrrhus
is related by family ties to all the ocean. He implies that his family back-
ground is much more distinguished than that of Agamemnon.
342 a virgin’s secret rape: Achilles seduced Deidamia, the daughter of the king,
who gave birth to Pyrrhus.
346 Hell from Aeacus, sky from Jove: Aeacus, Achilles’ grandfather, became a
judge of the dead; Jupiter ( Jove) was the father of Aeacus, great-grand-
father of Achilles.
348 whom gods feared to fight: in Book 20 of the Iliad Apollo and Poseidon
(Neptune) resist fighting with Achilles.
358 a heavy price for me: another allusion to the sacrifice of Agamemnon’s
daughter (see note to line 164). Calchas was the seer who proposed the
killing.
387 the lord of the stars: the sun.
388 Hecate: the moon-goddess (see note to Medea, line 7).
391 lake . . . swear their oaths: the Styx in the underworld.
402 Taenarus: location of an entrance to the underworld.
414 my body: Andromache identifies herself with her husband’s corpse.
* * *
notes to trojan women, pages 117–127