Seneca was a Roman writing in the mid-first century AD.
Read the whole satyrical essay (in Sullivan) which presents itself as what really happened to emperor Claudius after his death. You should know that Seneca did not like Claudius much since this emperor had exiled him from Rome.
We have seen a lot of "immortalization" in this course and mentioned that as early as Gilgamesh and the Egyptian pharaohs some men were worshiped as gods after their deaths. Alexander was worshiped and so were many Roman emperors. Seneca here presents a comical alternate view of the "reality" of deification. His title Apocolocyntosis ("Pumpkinification" or "Gourdification")is a parody of the Greek Apotheosis ("Deification").
Katie Burke
ReplyDeleteIt was mentioned that a few sisters wove cheap wool into gold. Do you think this essay influenced the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin, where a millers daughter weaves straw into gold?
Jordann Markowitz
ReplyDeleteSeneca says in the first lines that he does not have to reveal his sources if asked. Should this be a clue not to take any of this story seriously?
Sara Welish
ReplyDeleteWhy does Claudius become unrecognizable when he ascends to heaven?
Shannon Potts
ReplyDeleteWhy might some gods wish for Claudius to become a god, when he had treated his subjects as poorly as he did?
Maeve Tischbein
ReplyDeleteAlthough Roman, was Claudius's comic death and death speech meant to make fun of, or contrast the traditional ideas of a Greek heroic death?
Doug Ritchey
ReplyDeleteWhy did Hercules not recognize Claudius's face after Claudius had spent so much time within the Herculean Temple? p226 I thought all Gods were grateful for those who praised them.
Katie,
ReplyDeleteYou must be talking about the three Fates mentioned in the poem on p. 223. The tri-part goddesses like the Fates and Graces are found in other cultures and religions too and can be interpreted in many ways. As for the gold spinning motif, this no doubt has many oral and written precedents. Diodorus Siculus mentioned the supposedly golden sheep in the Hesperides. There is the golden fleece in Jason and the Argonauts. Similarly Psyche in Apuleius' Golden Ass (2nd cent. AD Latin novel) has to gather golden fleece as part of a test put to her by Venus. The test aspect is similar to Rumpelstiltkin. Still, I don't see any indication of a direct influence, just a similarity due to the common oral tradition and common circumstances of such tales.
Jordann,
Yes and no. He is mocking the conventions of historiography while clearly claiming to write the TRUTH. The reader should of course recognize this play and to enjoy it as well as possible one must read it as history while recognizing it is not. If you do this, the story is funnier.
Sara,
I don't think he has changed appearance. The gods (who are not always omniscient in the ancient world) have perhaps not seen him before. Also Seneca is mocking Claudius' personal appearance. He was an old ugly, deformed man who limped about and had shaky hands. Thus describing him as a monster is hyperbole, exaggerating his ugliness.
Shannon,
Remember it's all a joke. Claudius convinces Hercules by showing that he has often offered him sacrifices. Hercules then convinces others based on similar exchange of favors. I think it is meant to show the gods acting in the petty ways that Roman politicians sometimes empoyed.
Maeve,
Yes, there is possibly some implicit parody of Greek heroic ideals. Though I would not press this issue, Seneca's real point is to attack Claudius and perhaps secondarily other less than worthy emperors who might claim immortality (Caligula doesn't come off well here either). Hercules in particular does not come out well, but I should say that this kind of arrogant, greedy Heracles is found in early Greek Comedy too.
AR
ReplyDeleteDoug,
Fabulae causa (for the sake of the story). Seneca makes the gods not recognize Claudius because he supposedly looks so much like a monster (humorous attack on Claudius' appearance), and he wants to have Claudius, after being frightened by Hercules, address him and try to attain his help. This shows Claudius' cowardice and rhetorical manipulation.
Steve Fusco
ReplyDeleteWhat was the purpose of depicting Claudius as some kind of unknowable creature? What is the purpose of having Hercules be confused by who and what he is, and actually be afraid of him? Claudius is compared to a sea-creature at one point, but it confuses me that he wouldn't be seen as just a man.
This work is very similar to the Divine Comedy. Could Dante have been inspired by Seneca?
ReplyDeleteKrysta Brown
Andrew Gordon
ReplyDeleteDoes Claudius' punishment really make him suffer for the misdeeds he has committed? Seneca wants to shed light on Claudius' actions as unjust, but his punishment doesn't seem to match with his actions? If he was responsible for the deaths of so many, why wouldn't his punishment relate more to Sisyphus or Tantalus?
Steve,
ReplyDeleteAs explained above, it mocked his appearance. He is supposed to be so monstrous looking that even Hercules is afraid. His voice is the thing compared to a sea-monster. This is a strike at his uneven, even lisping voice. The obvious point is that just like a sea-monster his voice is hard or impossible to understand. Perhaps it is allusion to the unintelligible barking sounds of Scylla.
Krysta,
I checked the dates and the earliest extant manuscripts predate Dante so that it would have been possible for him to have known it but one would have to do some research to find out if he ever had read it.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteI think that the author is after humor here so the dice cup with a hole in it mocks his love of gambling. Also his eventual subjugation to Caligula in the underworld shows that he was not even a very good "bad" emperor. Caligula out-trumps him by treating Claudius as his own personal whipping boy.