Seneca was not only Rome's major Stoic philosopher. He was its great tragic playwright. Classics of Latin literature, Seneca's dramas also inspired the revival of tragic theater in the Renaissance. They served as models for Shakespeare, Kyd, Racine, Corneille, and Calderon. Dana Gioia's new book provides two ways of approaching Seneca-the critical and the creative. The book begins with a compelling account of Seneca's remarkable life in Imperial Rome. It interweaves the Stoic's roles as philosopher, politician, and playwright. There is no better introduction to this influential and often misunderstood genius of Classical culture.

Gioia then offers a vivid poetic translation of Seneca's powerful tragedy, The Madness of Hercules. This violent and visionary play explores the utmost extremes of human suffering expressed in passionate language. It also contains a spellbinding descent into the Underworld, an account that haunted later poets from Dante to Eliot.