Trojan Women (Masters of Latin Literature) [Paperback]

Seneca (Author), Diskin Clay (Editor), Douglass Parker (Editor), Jon Stallworthy (Editor), Frederick Ahl (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 1986 | Series: Masters of Latin Literature

This free and eloquent translation skillfully reproduces the imagery, power, and frequent irony and sarcasm of Seneca's language.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Cornell University Press (October 23, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801494311
• ISBN-13: 978-0801494314
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #985,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, statesman, philosopher, advocate and man of letters, was born in Spain around 4BC. He rose to prominence at Rome, pursuing a double career in the courts and political life, until Claudius sent him into exile exile on the island of Corsica for eight years. Recalled in AD49, he was appointed tutor to the boy who was to become, in AD54, the emperor Nero. Seneca acted for eight years as Nero's unofficial chief minister until Nero too turned against him and he retired from public life to devote himself to philosophy and writing. In AD65, following the discovery of a plot against the emperor, he and many others were compelled by Nero to commit suicide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb..., May 10, 2004

By 

Iason "itys" (Cambridge , MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trojan Women (Masters of Latin Literature) (Paperback)

I had the pleasure of being professor Ahl's student for an entire year studying both Greek history and a great deal of ancient and modern tragedy under him including Trojan Women. Unlike other translators , Ahl makes painstaking efforts to capture not only the meaning of the original text but also the "feel" of the text which oftentimes includes a great deal of wordplay and many other subtleties that translators are unable or unwilling to capture. Given that, Trojan Women by Seneca, which is in some ways a "remake" of Euripides Trojan Women and in others a highly original masterpiece, is one of the best tragedies of all time and is recommended because of its timeless themes of life,death, war and the treatment of the conquered by the conquerors that it addresses. I highly recommend this play and all other translations by professor Ahl.