This volume is a companion to the author's new Loeb edition of Seneca's tragedies (vol. 1, 2002; vol. 2, 2004). It offers reasons for his editorial choices, and explains his interpretations of the text as reflected in his translation. Hercules Oetanus and Octavia, now generally regarded as imitations of Senecan drama, are both included. The volume is intended to be read alongside Otto Zwierlein's Kritische Kommentar, published in 1986. In the intervening years there has been much new work pertaining to Seneca's text, including full-scale editions with commentary on...

John G. Fitch's new Latin text of Seneca's play, Hercules Furens, is based on a collation of the chief manuscripts, including the Paris manuscript T. In his introduction, Fitch traces the conflicting classical portrayals of Hercules--a figure embodying altruism and aggrandizement, restraint and wildness--and argues that in the play, the untamed side of his nature ultimately turns against him and destroys him.

In introductory notes to individual acts and choral odes, Fitch addresses the play's thematic development and discusses probably influences, including the Greek...