Buy new:
-10% $15.30
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$15.30 with 10 percent savings
List Price: $17.00

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Friday, May 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Thursday, May 16. Order within 13 hrs 9 mins
In Stock
$$15.30 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$15.30
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$8.87
Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less See less
FREE delivery May 20 - 24. Details
Or fastest delivery May 14 - 17. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$15.30 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$15.30
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Ships from and sold by ThriftBooks-Phoenix.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the authors

Lucius Annaeus Seneca
+ Follow
Sénéca
+ Follow
See all
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Phaedra and Other Plays (Penguin Classics) Paperback – October 25, 2011

by Seneca (Author), R. Scott Smith (Editor, Translator, Introduction)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$15.30","priceAmount":15.30,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"15","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"30","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"EfQFMwxPJHxMurW13MaIT1eA1VbFhg7Ya0QaP2SfWhO0yUnQk2GaSA%2BR%2BV1ztkK04ExXk1SgrtY3y%2BQujoUmD0KpmFAJKh%2BAljOuspgFYimyLHFTaeThPsM8l1i7%2B%2BI%2Fmde%2BPiA5Vrwkbn3MMV9qgw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.87","priceAmount":8.87,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"87","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"EfQFMwxPJHxMurW13MaIT1eA1VbFhg7YldgvVpsXFBZeJEWxZDEASMCF2uD2WWDLAnrcHhO2cmPMwHNMbLjtWH3uY7yR1WkeDRE5acBSJuSztHHZ%2B0JwGd%2BaiwTIWmEVlMMewSyT15tad8qQZtSfE5ae6IF5J2EXUro9xj9wYlwVG1l6B%2B2lyPqnKEq8HCO7","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Living in Rome under Caligula and later a tutor to Nero, Seneca witnessed the extremes of human behaviour. His shocking and bloodthirsty plays not only reflect a brutal period of history but also show how guilt, sorrow, anger and desire lead individuals to violence. The hero of Hercules Insane saves his own family from slaughter, only to commit further atrocities when he goes mad. The horrifying death of Astyanax is recounted in Trojan Women, and Phaedra deals with forbidden love. In Oedipus a nervous man discovers himself, while Thyestes recounts the bitter family struggle for a crown. Of uncertain authorship, Octavia dramatizes Nero's divorce from his wife and her deportation. The only Latin tragedies to have survived complete, these plays are masterpieces of vibrant, muscular language and psychological insight.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    326 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Classics
  4. Publication date
    October 25, 2011
  5. Grade level
    12 and up
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    0140455515
  9. ISBN-13
    978-0140455519
  10. See all details
Next page
All the Little Raindrops: A Novel
"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

Frequently bought together

Phaedra and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)
$15.30
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Phèdre
$13.18
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
Only 2 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by SAG TIGER LLC and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
+
Euripides I: Alcestis, Medea, The Children of Heracles, Hippolytus (The Complete Greek Tragedies)
$14.00
Get it as soon as Friday, May 17
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lucius Annaeus Seneca statesman, philosopher, advocate and man of letters, was born at Cordoba in Spain around 4 BC. He rose to prominence in Rome, pursuing a career in the courts and political life while also acquiring celebrity as an author of tragedies and essays. After retiring from public life, he devoted his last three years to philosophy and writing. Following the discovery of a plot against the emperor, in which he was thought to be implicated, he and many others were compelled by Nero to commit suicide in AD 65.

R. Scott Smith is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of New Hampshire. His books include An Anthology of Classical Myth (as co-editor and translator) and The Unknown Socrates (as co-editor and contributor).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; 1st edition (October 25, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 326 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140455515
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140455519
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Previous page
  1. Lucius Annaeus Seneca

    Lucius Annaeus Seneca

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

    See more on the author's page
  2. Sénéca

    Sénéca

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

    See more on the author's page
Next page

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
28 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jpuscas
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
I love the translation very readable
Helpful
 Report
Aran Joseph Canes
4.0 out of 5 stars A Largely Successful Adaption from Greece to Rome
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2018
This book is a collection of the major tragedies of Seneca. Lesser known than his philosophical works, these have perennial interest in showing the cultural changes undergone since these works’ original setting in Attic Greece.

All of the works reliably attributed to Seneca are retellings of Grecian tragedies. Admittedly, they lack some of the dramatic pathos the Greek tragedians displayed when these plays were performed as part of the Dionysian mysteries. But they do provide more evidence of the cultural reliance of Rome on Greece in the early days of the empire.

They also display themes of particular interest to Seneca. Prominent tropes are the exultation of the simple life, the need to rule with moderation and temperance and the temptation for dictators to abuse their power. As the tutor to Nero, these interests are not so surprising.

More of note is the transformation of tragedy from religious rite to entertainment for intellectuals. While Aeschylus’s characters are almost epitomes of the gods, Seneca dwells on the morals, thoughts and emotions of his very human central characters. Shakespeare is not so far away.

Though not necessary reading, those who enjoy Greek tragedy will mostly be delighted with the imitations of Seneca. As long as you do not view Western civilization as declining from Greece to Rome (as Nietzsche did for example) the transformation of Dionysian rite to reflection on humanity and its part in the larger world is largely successful and makes for engaging reading.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Bethany
5.0 out of 5 stars Bethany's Review
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2013
Verified Purchase
I choose this rating because it came in a timely manner and is in beautiful condition.
I like this item because it is a good read and something I should probably have since I am a theatre person.
I would reccomend this to all theatre people.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Gill Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2012
Verified Purchase
excellent condition, am using this as part of an Open University Degree course- Myth in the Greek and Roman worlds, brilliant!
One person found this helpful
 Report
J. R. Lyttle
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
I sacked the au pair after reading this
One person found this helpful
 Report