Thyestes is a revenge play

Tragedy is an ancient form of drama and it was very popular in ancient Greece. In fact, many dramatis and scholars in ancient Greece thought that tragedy was higher than comedy or any other kind of drama. In ancient Greece, we can find one of the best examples of tragedy in Oedipus of Sophocles. In Roman civilization, tragedy was also popular and it was even more developed in a different way by Roman philosopher and scholar Seneca. Seneca wrote eight tragedies and he particularly made one kind of tragedy popular which is called revenge tragedy. His drama Thyestes is a revenge tragedy and one of the best examples of the Senecan tragedy.

Before going any further, we should talk a little bit about Senecan tragedy and its elements. Senecan revenge tragedy has a revenge plot. Someone will harm someone and the affected person will take revenge. This is the common idea, but Senecan revenge tragedies have perhaps other added elements. First of all, in Senecan elements, we will always find supernatural elements. Supernatural elements are very strong and they contribute actively in supporting the person who is taking revenge. Then, there is another element which is always presented in Senecan revenge tragedy and that is political instability and fighting. It is the incident that does not take place as simple personal matter, but it becomes more related to getting power and politics.

In Thyestes, we can see these two things and I am going to discuss a little bit later about it. The final element which is perhaps common in Senecan revenge tragedy is that there will be full of bloodshed and very bad act of cruelty. Sometimes, this example of cruelty becomes inhuman and too much bad. For example, in this drama, Thyestes is given the flesh and blood of his own two sons in the form of soup. In Thyestes, we can find that the supernatural elements are present strongly. In fact, in the opening scene, the Fury reminds the grandfather of Atreus and Thyestes about a crimes committed by his family. Then Tentalus became sad and left everything. The Fury predicts bad things for his house. Anyway, Atreus is angry with Thyestes for several reasons. The first reason is that he wants to enjoy the kingship or ruling over the country alone and he wants even more. He is not satisfied that Thyestes is exiled and cannot do anything. Atreus is the king himself. This is not enough and he wants everything.

On the other hand, Thyestes has also committed a bad action. He had adultery with the wife of Atreus and because of it there is some doubt about who is the real father of the two sons of Atreus. So, Atreus is angry and he wants to take revenge. Atreus is also very greedy and he is jealous of Thyestes.

So, Atreus takes revenge by killing the two sons of Thyestes and then he secretly put the blood and flesh of these two sons in soup and then he gave Thyestes this soup. Thyestes was heavily drunk and he could not understand that he was eating the flesh and blood of his own two sons. This way, very bad thing happened and Thyestes vowed that he would take revenge in future. Thyestes could take revenge by taking the throne. He became king later and sent the two sons of Atreus to exile. Thus, we can see political instability and revenge.

During Senecan life, Rome had similar condition. There was always fighting and no one trusted no one. As a result, Seneca suffered. He was one of the most influential and most important persons in Roman Empire. But he had many enemies and many people were jealous of him. So in the end, he had to leave the capital city and take shelter to a rural area.

Senecan tragedy became popular in England in Renaissance time. Shakespeare’s Macbeth or Thomas Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy contains some elements of the Senecan revenge tragedy.