1636 Rare Latin Book - SENECA - L. Annæi Senecæ - Tragedies - Oedipus, Hercules Furens, Thyestes, etc.

 

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Author: Senecae (Seneca).
Title: L. Annaei Senecae et aliorum tragoediae serio emendatae editio prioribus longe correctior.
Language: Text in Latin.
Publisher: Amsterdam, Janßonius, 1636.
Size: small 4.5 " X 2.5 ". 
Pages: 263 pages.
Binding: Good original full calf leather binding (hinges tight, upper and lower part os spine chipped - as shown, overall worn and scuffed - as shown)  under a removable protective mylar cover.
Content: Very good content (bright and tight, rare foxing, and staining - as shown).
Illustrations: Complete with the beautifully illustrated title page.

The book:  Rare and nice 17th-century edition of Senecan tragedies - a set of ancient Roman tragedies. Ten of these plays exist, of which most likely eight were written by the Stoic philosopher and politician Lucius Annaeus Seneca. The group includes Hercules Furens, Medea, Troades, Phaedra, Agamemnon, Oedipus, Phoenissae, Thyestes, Hercules Oetaeus, and Octavia. In the mid-16th century, Italian humanists rediscovered these works, making them models for the revival of tragedy on the Renaissance stage. The two great, but very different, dramatic traditions of the age — French neoclassical tragedy and Elizabethan tragedy — both drew inspiration from Seneca. Usually, the Senecan tragedy focuses heavily on supernatural elements.

The author:  Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BC – AD 65), fully Lucius Annaeus Seneca and also known simply as Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and—in one work—humorist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. As a tragedian, he is best known for his Medea and Thyestes.