Ironic visions of the divine in Seneca’s dramas

Abstract

Seneca the playwright reverses and invalidates the essential features of the religious thought outlined in the philosopher’s moral prose. This ironic twist is too punctual and systematic to be devoid of moral meaning. Three examples, from Hercules furens, Agamemnon and Oedipus, are considered especially appropriate, and go over the whole time span of Seneca’s dramatic œuvre.