We’re forced to read “Hamlet” at school. Shakespeare was forced to read “Thyestes”. 

Family squabbles turning hyperviolent has a long history, nowhere more violent than in these Ancient Roman classics. Do Seneca’s bloody plays still have power to shock? We dig into “Medea” and “Thyestes”.

Make sure to subscribe and share this podcast! Comments and questions can be sent to shakespeare.pals@gmail.com

Sources:

Seneca, Six Tragedies, trans. Emily Wilson (Oxford University Press)

Seneca, Four Tragedies and Octavia, trans. E F Watling (Penguin Books)