Seneca: Apocolocyntosis

A uniquely surviving specimen of prose-and-verse satire from the Roman world.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (Author), P. T. Eden (Edited by)

9780521288361, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 15 March 1984

192 pages
20.3 x 12.7 x 1.1 cm, 0.204 kg

The Gourdification of Claudius the God has instant and lasting appeal. It is a uniquely surviving specimen of prose-and-verse satire from the Roman world - and satire, a Roman speciality, is one of the few types of ancient literature to survive, and thrive, in modern society. Its author, Seneca, was not only gifted with intellectual virtuosity, but, at the time of writing, was the precarious power behind the throne of the dangerously developing Nero. Claudius, the target of his malicious wit, remains the most controversial of the first twelve imperial Caesars. The English version facing the text makes the work available to the general reader who may not have any Latin. The text, which is based on a critical examination of all the manuscripts, will be indispensable to scholars. The commentary, which is the first on this scale to have been written in English, is primarily addressed to university and other students.

Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
L. Annaei Senecae Divi Clavdii
Commentary
Appendix
Bibliographies
Indexes.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]