Comparison: Emeror Nero and Atreus Essay Example

Three years later, Seneca was accused of taking part in a plot against Nero and he willingly committed suicide to stave off the accusations. Eight of Senecas works have survived the ages, and these pieces draw heavily on both the Greek and the Roman traditions. Foremost among Senecas works are his tragedies, which draw upon the Greek mythologies but also promote the rich Roman literary tradition. Instead of being designed for public performances, these tragedies appear to be more along the lines of private moments of catharsis. Mot personal, and certainly the most gruesome, of these plays is the tragedy of Thyestes. The play has been considered an epic study in madness, where the doomed character of Atreus is similar in almost every respect to that of Nero.

Through the actions of Atreus, it is apparent that Seneca is telling the readers about the internal struggles of Nero. It can be seen through his writing that Seneca desperately loved Nero yet was powerless to stop his eventual fall and destruction. The Character of Atreus The character of Atreus was, in the Greek tradition, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia. Atreus was also the father of the Greek king Agamemnon. The myth of Atreus had that character enter into a blood feud with his brother Thyestes, eventually having Atreus slip so far into a vengeful madness that he served a banquet to Thyestes of his own children. Seneca was truthful to this original myth in almost every respect, yet he drew out the agony of Thyestes and the madness of Atreus in new ways. The prologue to the play has the ghost of Tantalus taunted from Hell

by a Fury. Tantalus, the character of a myth separate from that of Thyestes but the grandfather to both Thyestes and Atreus, has long been tormented in Hell though the constant offering of food that he can never touch.

The Fury warns Tantalus that his grandsons are in need of guidance, as they appear fated to destroy the other, and that the Fury might need to intervene to prevent the slaughter of the good man Thyestes. Tantalus warns the Fury that killing either man would be sinful and that the Fury should instead concentrate on keeping the alters clean. The feud between Atreus and Thyestes begins with the supposed rape of Atreus wife by Thyestes and the subsequent theft of the Golden Fleece. Atreus is the king of the island state Argos, the land where the hero Jason returned with the Golden Fleece after his quest was completed, Atreus feels that the loss of the Golden Fleece is a direct blow to his honor and abilities as king. Atreus is not so upset about the fact that his brother raped his wife Aerope, as he is concerned over the parentage of his children. The two sons that were born could have been fathered by either man, although there are strong hints that Thyestes is the rightful father. To test if the two male children, Agamemnon and Menelaus, were his, Atreus decided to pit them in the fight against Thyestes. He believes that if the two children were fathered by his brother, they would not be able to raise a hand in violence against Thyestes in what Atreus considered rightful punishment. And in an additional display of

madness, Atreus determined that the best means of punishing his brother was to have Thyestes tear and eat of the flesh of his own children.

The treatment of the people of Argos is another indication that Atreus is insane. He forces himself on his people, and makes them support his actions regardless of consequence. His citizens are terrified of their king, and the minister frequently advises Atreus that his course of rule is not the way to govern a people. The minister warns that the kingdom will fall when there is neither shame nor law nor trust nor piety. Despite the council of his minister, Atreus determines that the only way to properly punish his brother is to have him eat his children in the space of a normal banquet. Atreus states, in words that clearly indicate his madness: "My spirit rouses, as that of a sick man who drags himself from his bed to go and vomit. I must dare something atrocious, spectacular, so bloody, and altogether beastly that my own brother will be driven to envy, even as he suffers its dire effects. His proud spirit will break, as mine will heal to see it. The gory pudding stands on the banquet table.

We must serve each other and ourselves." (Slavitt: 68) Atreus then lures his brother to the island kingdom with the promise of allowing him to share in his throne, and then butchers his three sons in a sacrifice. After killing these children and preparing them as if for a feast, Thyestes eats of his childrens flesh and enjoys the dish until a messenger arrives and tells him what has been done to

his children. Wanting proof, Thyestes is shown his childrens head and hands and begs Atreus for a burial, but Atreus laughs and turns his brother away. Comparisons Between The Myth and the Reality The tragedy of Thyestes is truly bitter, more because the horrific themes found within the story are founded upon Senecas own relationship with Nero than due to the nature of the myth. Taken apart from the context of Seneca and Nero, the myth is a teaching fable that indicates that animosity between brothers will always result in destruction. The significance of cooking and eating the children represents the perversion of: a sacred rite so degenerate that it terrifies the gods is the ultimate desecration of religion." (Pratt: 102) Beyond this, however, there is no true indication of madness, rather simply the presence of undying hatred and the theme of revenge.

Yet in Senecas retelling, the character of Atreus takes on a dimension of insanity. Worse, it can be seen that his insanity does not grow and consume him, but rather springs fully formed from the mind of the crazed king. (Tarrant: 81) In respect to Nero, this clearly indicates the influence of that mad emperor in the character of Atreus. The histories by Suetonius chronicle this in Chapters XXVII-XXIX. The historian describes how, after very little preamble, the madness of Nero springs fully formed from his being. Among the worst of what Nero was wont to do included: Nero castrated the boy Sporus and actually tried to make a woman of him; and he married him with all the usual ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil, took him to his house

attended by a great throng, and treated him as his wife (Warmington: 144)

And later: Nero so prostituted his own chastity that after defiling almost every part of his body, he at last devised a kind of game, in which, covered with the skin of some wild animal, he was let loose from a cage and attacked the private parts of men and women, who were bound to stakes, and when he had sated his mad lust, was dispatched by his freed man Doryphorus; for he was even married to this man in the same way that he himself had married Sporus, going so far as to imitate the cries and lamentations of a maiden being deflowered. (Ibid: 144-145) When compared to the character of Atreus, there is little doubt that the madness in Nero was not reflected in Senecas works. Yet this is perhaps most evident in terms of particular plots devised by Nero against those of his own family. It is not by accident that Seneca chose to parallel Nero against a mythological figure that worked from within to destroy his own family. Seneca was still residing under Neros command when Nero determined that the Lady Agrippina was trying to kill him. (There is some evidence for this, as the lady was no doubt aware of her sons uncertain mental qualities, but she is presumed to just wait until after Neros certain eventual and dire end..)

Although Suetonius suggests in his histories that Nero had incestuous relations with his mother, Nero determined that he needed to kill his own mother in order to save himself from her manipulations. Seneca, a great friend of the lady,

was unwilling to join in the plot and was eventually coerced into aiding in her death. This scene is mirrored in Thyestes, where Seneca laments the unpunished deaths of Thyestes children. Seneca, speaking through his writings, purges his feelings in the following passage: At home in Rome, someone has his own half-brother poisoned at dinner. Everyone sees but says nothing and does nothing. Then he murders his own mother, and nothing happens, nothing at all. The sun continues to rise in the east and travel its usual course across a clear baby-blue heaven, but how? Is there no justice? Are there no gods to keep such foulness away from the world?" (Tarrant: 93) While in his play, Senecas gods rise up to deliver punishment both on Atreus and his child Agamemnon, it is plain that Seneca saw no such redemption or retribution occurring within his own life. Nero was allowed to run free, and according to Suetonius he was a vicious and abusive emperor who worked to destroy his own people through the expressions of his madness. This is quite possibly why Seneca was involved in the scheme to assassinate the emperor three years after he was banished from the capital.

The character of the unnamed minister in Thyestes is yet another strong example of Senecas personal connections with the play. This minister acts as the singular voice of reason in the tragedy. Privy to all of Atreus plots, the minister is able to bear witness to both the insanity of his actions and the effects that Atreus actions have on the people of his kingdom. The unnamed minister is thus the voice of reason for

the entire kingdom. Unable to hold any actual power, the minister is aware that the only way to provide help for the country was to pull the king out of his madness. From the futile efforts of the minister, it can be seen that Seneca was at a loss when dealing with Nero. Seneca apparently remained in his position as a trusted adviser to the mad emperor for as long as he could, providing what wisdom he could interject whenever possible. It was only after the emperor had lost all patience with Seneca that the politician and writer was once more banished. However, from the histories, it appears that Seneca was not willing to let himself go quietly into that good night.

Unlike the unnamed minister from the play, Seneca is rumored to have been involved in a plot designed to kill Nero. Whether or not this is factual, Seneca was ordered to commit suicide in 65 C.E., only three years after Nero had him banished from Rome. Seneca obliged, killing himself with both a knife and poison. Conclusion This paper has demonstrated that the characterization of Atreus in Senecas tragedy entitled 'Thyestes' is influenced by the close relationship Seneca had with the Emperor Nero. Atreus is cast as a madman, an individual who sought to destroy his brother through the worst of punishments. Atreus also worked to make the people of his kingdom conform to his whims despite the wise council of his minister. The parallels that can be made between the character of Atreus and the Emperor Nero are apparent. Nero allowed his madness to dictate his actions, as did the character of Atreus.

Where Nero murdered his kin out of imagined sins, so did Atreus. Where Atreus fought against the words of his minister, so did Nero. The cathartic properties of Senecas writing can be seen more as a purging of Senecas anger against the gods refusal to punish Nero than a play for public performance. The need to express the futility of the actions that the gods did not take against Nero forced Seneca to press the character of Atreus out of the image of Nero. Here, Seneca can be seen to explore the relationship between a man who seemed immune from all punishment and the character of a man who was eventually destroyed by the gods.