Vivid new translations of Seneca's tragic masterpieces. Living in Rome under Caligula and later serving as a tutor to Nero, Seneca witnessed extremes of human behavior. 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 plays in this volume- Hercules Insane, Trojan Women, Phaedra, Oedipus, Thyestes , and Octavia -present both the consequences of reckless human behavior and the cruelties of fate.