Vindicat Omnes Natvra Sibi

Many recent discussions of Senecan tragedy have concentrated on such issues as the author's relationship to previous Greek and Latin tragedy, the connections between his prose and dramatic works and problems of performance. Although these questions are important, I propose to set them aside as far as possible in order to examine the inner dynamics of one Senecan tragedy, Phaedra . I shall explore the ways in which Seneca's use of imagery, mythological allusion and characterisation bear upon the play's central theme, man's attempts to defy or control the forces of nature. Phaedra begins with the organisation of a hunt. In Euripides' Hippolytus the hero entered returning from the hunt, but Seneca's Hippolytus, surrounded by a group of companions, is actually in action. The opening sentences of his first speech are commands (1-24). Indeed his first word is an imperative ( Ite [‘Go!’]). He directs his men to different localities much as a general disposes his troops. His language suggests that there are analogies between a hunt and a military operation, for the successful hunter is a ‘conqueror’ ( victor , 52) and the sequel will be a ‘lengthy triumphal procession’ ( longo... triumpho , 79f.). Implicit in Hippolytus' exercise of power through the hunt is the notion of control. Note, for example, Hippolytus' orders concerning the hounds

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