TROADES: OR THE Royal Captives.
A TRAGEDY.
Written Originally in Latin, By LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA, The PHILOSOPHER.
ENGLISH'D By EDWARD SHERBURNE, Esq With ANNOTATIONS.
LONDON, Printed by Anne Godbid, and Iohn Playford, for Samuel Carr, at the Kings-Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1679.
TO THE READER.
IF the Reflection upon other Misfortunes, may afford at any time Diversion, or Improvement, by minding us of the Signal Vicissitudes of Humane Affairs; these Tragical Scenes, which we now offer to publick view, (exhibiting a serious, yet withall, delightful Representation, of one of the most splendid Calamities that Antiquity hath transmitted to Posterity) may peradventure be look'd upon as no unpleasing Entertainment.
The Poem, as to its Subject, wants nothing of Grandeur to ennoble it, nor, as to its Composition, of Ingenuity: Having gain'd by the joynt Suffrage of the most knowing Criticks of this latter Age (Lipsius, Delrius, Scaliger, and Heinsius) the [Page] Title of The Divine Troades. And one of the most Eminent Modern Masters of Dramatick Poesy among us, Mr. Dryden, in his Essay upon that Subject, hath declar'd it to be the Master Piece of Seneca; especially that Scene therein, where Ulys [...]s is seeking for Astyanax to kill him. There (says he) you have the Tenderness of a Mother so represented in Andromache, that it raises Compassion to a high Degree in the Reader, and bears the nearest Resemblance of any thing in the Antient Tragedies, to the excellent Scenes of Passion in Shakespeare, or in Fletcher.
If in this our Version, those commendable Graces of the Original be not utterly lost, the candid Reader will find somthing therein, which happily, he may not dislike.
For the better clearing of the obscurer places in the Poem, there are added some Mythological, Historical, and Topographical Notes; not such (I must confess) as may fully answer the expectation of the Critically Learned, yet such (if I mistake not) as may serve, in some Measure, to satisfie the ingenious Curiosity of the less knowing Reader.
ARGUMENT.
THE Greeks after ten Years War, having taken and ruin'd the City of Troy, were hindred from returning home by cross Winds. The Ghost of Achilles appearing denies any possibility of returning, until they sacrifice to his Ashes Polyxena, the Daughter of Priam and Hecuba, in treating about whose Nuptials he was treacherously slain. Agamemnon out of kindness to Polyxena, denies to have her sacrific'd. This begets a hot Dispute and Contest between Agamemnon and Pyrrhus, which Calchas at l [...]ngth decides, by declaring, That not only Polyxena, but Astyanax likewise, (Son of Hector and Andromache) were both to be slain e're they could hope for favourable Winds. In pursuance of which prophetical Decree, the one was by Ulysses thrown headlong from the Scaean Tower; and the other, habited like a Grecian Bride, sacrific'd by Pyrrhus at his Father's Monument.
- Hecuba, Queen of Troy.
- Chorus, of Trojan Ladies.
- [...], a Grecian Priest.
- Agamemnon, King, and General of the Grecians.
- Calchas, a Grecian Prophet.
- Helena.
- Pyrrhus, Son of Achilles.
- Andromache, Hector's Widow.
- An Old Trojan. Ulysses.
- Astyanax, Son of Hector and Andromache.
- Polyxena, Daughter of Priam and Hecuba, Mute.
- Nuncius.
THE SCENE, The Ruines of TROY.
TROADES.
ACT I.
SCENE I.
ACT II.
SCENE I.
- Talthibius, and
- Chorus of old Trojans.
ACT II. SCENE II.
- PYRRHUS,
- AGAMEMNON.
Shall then Achilles Ghost due Honours want?
Yes, the same Navy Priam durst to board.
"'Tis Kingly to a King Life to afford.
Then why a King did you deprive of Breath?
"There's Mercy sometimes shown in giving Death.
So you'd in Mercy Sacrifice a Maid?
Forbid a Captiv's Death no Law e're did.
"What the Law does not, is by Shame forbid.
"What likes, is lawful, by All Victors thought.
"T' whom much is lawful, to like, little ought.
Breeds t Scyrus such high Blood?
Which strait'ning Seas inclose.
Yes, He who fell by Paris feeble Hand.
ACT III.
SCENE I.
- Andromache,
- Senex,
- Astyanax mute.
What sudden Fear does thy sad Mind surprize?
What further Miseries does Heaven intend?
Declare, what did thy dreadful Dream present?
Pray Heav'n no one discover or betray him.
Let there be none to witness where you lay him.
How if the Enemy demand the Boy?
Say, He was murder'd in subverted Troy.
SCENE II.
These Boasts at Deaths approach will quickly fly.
Where be the Proofs may make this credited?
Which ye Sold-
Down with't to the Ground.
Produce him first, then what you ask enjoy.
SCENE III.
- Ulysses,
- Andromache,
- Astyanax.
Not we, but Calchas this denies to thee.
O pity, Mother!
ACT IV.
SCENE. I.
- HELENA,
- ANDROMACHE,
- HECUBA,
- POLYXENA.
Is of my Woes yet any Part unknown?
The Captives Dooms th'impartial Urn hath shown.
Whose Slave am I? Whom must I Master call?
Unto the Scyrian Youth, by Lot you fall.
She's Agamemnon's Prize.
ACT V.
SCENE I.
- NUNCIUS,
- ANDROMACHE,
- HECUBA.
A TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS IN THE ANNOTATIONS.
- ABraham's Intention in offering up of Isaac mis-interpreted by the He [...]ens, and erroniously made the occasional Introduction of Humane Sacrifices. Pag. 37
- Achilles at his first Arrival at Troy, kills Cycnus. 21
- Slain by Paris. 23
- Honour'd after Death with divine Rites. 43
- Conceal'd in Scyros among King Lycomedes his Daughters, in the Habit of a Virgin, and call'd Pyrrha. 24
- Takes Lesbos. Kills Trambelus. Layes Siege to Methymne, and causes Pisidice, who had betray'd the Town to him, to be ston'd to death. 24
- Discover'd in his disguise by the Stratagem of Ulysses. 25
- [Page]Wounds Telephus, and cures him. Pag. 26
- Takes Thebes, Lyrnessus. Chryse. Tenedos, Cille in his March to Troy. Kills Memnon, Hector, and Penthefil [...], p. 28, 29, 30, 31.
- His Character. 32
- His Lute. 39
- His Tomb not on the Rhet [...]an, but Sigaean Promontory, 113
- Acte, a Promontory and City of Magnesia, 90
- Agamemnon and Menelaus, supposed Sons of Plisthenes, and not of Atreus. 43
- A [...]ax Oileus, ravishes Cassandra in the Temple of Minerva. 6
- Amyclae, a City of Lacon [...]a, at this day call'd Vo [...]donia, or Vordona. 10
- Another in Italy, destroyd through the silence of its Inhabitants. ibid.
- Antenor's Wife. 9
- Argos, three Cities in Greece of that name. 94
- Ashes, strown upon the Heads of those that mourn'd for the Dead. 12
- Asia Minor, or Anatolia, its several Parts or Provinces. 2
- Under the Dominion of Priam. ibid.
- Assaracus, not the Son, but Brother to Ilus 4
- His Genealogy, according to Apollodorus and Conon. ibid.
- Atreus and Thyestes, the Crimes of their Families. 42
- Their Descent and Gen [...]alogy. 43
- BEssa, a Town of the Locrians. 92
- Reason of its Denomination. ibid.
- Brea [...]s beaten, a usual Expression of Funeral Sorrow. 13
- CA [...]vdnae, an Island in the Agean Sea. 88
- Call'd likewise Calymna. ibid.
- Famous for Excellent Honey. ibid.
- Calydon, a City of Aetolia, where Diana was worshipped by the Name of Laphria. 91
- Calydonian Boar, his Tusks transported by Augustus C [...]sar to Rome. ibid.
- Extant in the time of Pausanias; one of them half an Ell in length. ibid.
- Captives, how ordered in the Triumphal Processions of the Antients. 16
- Car [...]stus, a Maritime City of Eubaea, famous for rich Marble Quarries. 87
- Cassandra, her Prophecies, forbidden by Apollo to be beleiv'd. 5
- The reason thereof.
- [Page] Caycus, a River of Mysia, its several ancient Names, its modern. Pag. 29
- Cephalenia, an Island under the Dominion of Ulysses. 60
- Call'd anciently Same, Samos, and Taphos. ibid.
- Chalcis, the Chief City of Eub [...]a, upon the Euripus. 87
- Whence so called. ibid.
- Call'd at present Negropont. ibid.
- The Original of that Name. ibid.
- Chiron, his Cell. 86
- Difference between Antrum, Caverna, and Spelunca. ibid.
- Which of these was Chiron's Cell. ibid.
- Chryse, a Town of Phrygia Minor, where Chryses the Priest of Apollo, and Father of Astynome, or Chrysis lived. 27
- Cause of Difference between Agamemnon and Achilles. ibid.
- Cybele, so call'd from the Mountain of that Name. [...]0
- Cycnus, the Son of Neptune, Slain by Achilles. Five of that Name famous in the Poetic Stories. 21
- DAncing a part of the Religious Worship of the antient Ethnicks. 79
- Saltatio [...] in Honour of Apollo describ'd. ibid.
- Saltatio Coryb [...]tia in Honour of Cybele the Phrygian Goddes [...] ibid.
- EArthquake call'd [...] scu Mugiens. 20
- The cause thereof. ibid.
- Eleusis, a Maritime City of Attica, famous for the Temple of Ceres, and the Eleusinian Mysteries. 90
- Elysian Fields, where seated. 18
- Whence so called. ibid.
- E [...]ispae, a City of Arcadi [...], or Phocis. 89
- Euripus, a Narrow strait between Boeotia and Euboea. 88
- Famous for its wonderful Tides, which see describ'd. ibid.
- Eyes of the dying clos'd by those of their nearest Relations. 47
- [Page]FUneral Pile, the Custom or Ceremony of setting Fire to it. Pag. 49
- Funeral Torches, how made. ibid.
- Funeral, whence denominated. ibid.
- GIrton, a City of Macedonia, call'd at this day Tacc [...]i volicati. 83
- Gods, why call'd Easy. 1
- [...], a City of Perhibea, or Promontory of Pellene. 89
- By Pausanias call'd Donussa. ibid.
- Gr [...]ian Fleet, in the Expedition against Troy, of what Number of Ships. 34
- Computation of the Army transported in the said Ships. ibid. & pag. 35
- HAir, torn by those that mourn'd for the Dead. 12
- Hector Exemplary for his Piety as well as Valour. 18
- For which designed after death for the Islands of the Blessed. ibid.
- His fashion or manner of wearing his Hair peculiar. 56
- Imitated and affected by Caligula, Nero, and others of the Claudian Family. ibid.
- Hecuba, her Dream of being deliver'd of a Firebrand, when with Child with Paris. 5
- Her Death. 96
- Where buried. ibid.
- Her Monument call'd [...]. ibid.
- The Reason thereof. ibid.
- Helena Auspex at the Tragical Marriage of Polyxena. 98
- Compar'd to the Fowl call'd Crex, or the Daker Hen, ominous in Augury, especially as to Nuptials. ibid.
- Derivation of the Name Helena. 100
- Her proper Name Echo. ibid.
- Call'd likewise Leon [...]a. ibid.
- Helenus his Wife. 9
- [Page]INformers and Calumniators, how punished by Titus and Trajan the Roman Emperours. Pag. 108
- Iolcos, a City of Thessaly, at this day call'd Iacco. 85
- Said (but erroneously) to have been the place whence Iason and the Argonauts set Sail. ibid.
- Not a Port Town, but seated 30 Stadia within the Land. ibid.
- The Port belonging to it being Pagasae, the place where Argo was built. ibid.
- Ithaca, call'd a Rock, by way of Diminution. 96
- Its modern Name Iatacho. ibid.
- Distant 6 or 7 Miles from Dulichium, which the modern Greeks now call Thiaki. ibid.
- Iupiter Hercaus his Temple, the Sacrarium of Troy. 6
- The place where the Trojan Kings were inaugurated. ibid.
- At whose Altar Priam is said to have been slain. ibid.
- KNees, embraced by Suppliants. 72
- Reason of that Custom among the Antients. ibid.
- LYrnessus, a City of Troas, the Birth-place of Hippodamia, or Briseis, Daughter of Briseus. 27
- MElibaea, a City, ennobled by the Birth of Philoctetes, to who [...] Hercules bequeathed his fatal Shafts that were to be employ' [...] against Troy. 8 [...]
- M [...]mnon, Son of Tithon, (Priam's Brother) and Aurora, or of Titho [...] and Cissia. 3 [...]
- Brought 10000 Aethiopians, and 10000 Susians, to the Relief [...] Troy. ibid
- [Page]Slain by Achilles. Pag. 30
- Two of the same Name mentioned by Philostratus, the one an Aethiopian Prince, the other a Trojan. ibid.
- M [...]don, a City of Peloponnesus, on the Borders of Messenia. 83
- By the Turks at this day call'd Moytune; being a Bishop's See, under the Arch-bishop of Patras. 84
- Mycenae, a City of Argis, the Birth place of Agamemnon. 95
- Whence so called. ibid.
- Its modern Names. ibid.
- NEritos, an Island not far from Ithaca and Zant. 95
- A Mountain of the same Name likewise in Ithaca. ibid.
- OLenos, a City of Achaia, thin Peopled; in Strabo's time totally deserted. 84
- Olympian Games. The Victors therein crown'd with Wild Olive. 94
- In after-times with Crowns of Gold. ibid.
- Not known in Homer's time. ibid.
- Orestes, Son of Agamemnon, formerly call'd Achaeus. 163
- Born on the Feast-day of Ceres, surnamed Erinnys. ibid.
- Implying thereby that he should be vex'd by Furies. ibid.
- PAtroclus, slain in Achilles his Armour, by Euphorbus and H [...]or, not without the assistance of Apollo. 55
- Pelion, the highest Mountain of Thessaly. 86
- Its Perpendicular height, according to the measure of Dicaearchus Siculus. ibid.
- [...]silea, Queen of the Amazons, [...]lain by Achilles. 31
- Who seeing her dead Beauty became passionately in Love with her. ibid.
- Pepare [...]us, an Island in the Aege [...] Sea, one of the Cyclades. Its modern Names. 89
- Pergamus, the Citadel of Troy. That Part which was more especially said to have been immur'd by the Gods. 4
- [Page] Phthia, a City and Region of Thessaly. Pag. 82
- Two Cities of that Name, one in Thessaly, the other in [...]chaia Phth [...]otide. ibid.
- One the Birth-place and Principality of Achilles; the other under the Dominion of Protesilaus. ibid.
- Pisa, celebrated for the Temple of Iupiter, and the Olympick Games. 93
- Destroy'd by the Elaean's its Neighbours. ibid.
- Pleuron, a City of Aetolia. There were two of the same Name, the Old and the New. 85
- At this day call'd Bozichistran. ibid.
- Praefica, [...], Chief of the Women Mourners, and Directress of the Lamentations made at the Funerals of the Dead. 11
- Priam his Sons and Daughters. 7
- Twice captiv'd. 14
- Where and how slain. 15
- Call'd by Tiberius and Nero, The happiest of Men, for that he saw his Country and Kingdom destroy'd with himself. 17
- His first Name Podarces.
- Whence called Priamus. ibid.
- Prothous, Commander of the Magnetians in the Trojan Wars. 86
- Pylos. Three Cities of that Name, each claiming to be the Country of Nestor. 93
- Pyrrhus, introduc'd by Seneca to personate Nero. 32
- RHet [...]an Promontory 115
- SAlamis, or Salamine, an Island near the Athenian Coast. 91
- The Birth-place of Ajax. ibid.
- Called therefore Ajax his true Salamine, to distinguish it from the Cyprian Salamine, built by his Brother Teucer, which was call'd Ambiguous. ibid.
- Call'd at this day Coluri. ibid.
- Scaean Gate, why so call'd. 113
- Scarphe, a City of the Locrians. By Causabon conceiv'd to be trulier call'd Tarphe. 92
- The reason of its Name. ibid.
- [Page] Scyros, an Island in the Aegean Sea, where Achisles was conceal'd by his Mother. Pag. 41
- A Stony Island, whence the Name seems to be deriv'd. ibid.
- Scyrius Principatus meant of a mean and low Principality. ibid.
- Souls, by some of the Stoics suppos'd Mortal with the Body. 47
- By others of them believ'd to endure till the World's General Conflagration. ibid.
- The Life after separation from the Body miserable and painful. 48
- Sparta, or Laced [...]mon, at this day call'd Mysithra. 94
- TAnais, mistaken by Seneca for Danubius. 3
- A common Error among the Romans. ibid.
- Reputed by some to have seven Mouths or Outlets, by some five, by others only two. ibid.
- Telemac [...]us Son of Ulysses and Penelope. 66
- Signification of his Name. ibid.
- Te [...]pe, its Description. Original of its Name. 82
- Thebes. Nine Cities of the same Name reckon'd up by Stephanus de Urb. 27
- The Cilician Thebes the Country of Ection, Father of Andromache destroy'd by Achilles. ibid.
- Thessaly, its Description, antient and modern Names. 81
- Not known by that Name in the time of the Trojan Wars. ibid.
- Tigris erroneously said by Seneca to fall into the Erythraan or the Red Sea. 3
- Falls into the Persian Gulf. ibid.
- Tit [...]ressus, a River of Thessaly, that swims upon the River Peneus, without mingling his Waters. 92
- Trachyn, or Trachys, a City of Phocis according to Strabo, according to Stephanus of Thessaly; so called from the Asperity of its Situation. 82
- Tricca, a City of Thessaly. 83
- The Bishoprick of Heliodorus, Author of the fair Aethiopian. ibid.
- Triones, Seven Stars in the Constellation of the Northern Bear. 54
- Why so called. ibid.
- Trio. A Sirname to the Lucretian Family. ibid.
- Triton, half Man, half Dolphin. The Prime Marine Trumpeter, indu'd with Humane voice. 22
- Tras [...]n, a City in Peloponnesus, seated 15 Stadia from the Sea. 85
- Its Original. Famous for a fair Port under its Command call'd Portus Sarokicus & Pogonus. ibid.
- Its modern Names. ibid.
- [Page] Troy, why said to be built by Apollo and Neptune. Pag. 2
- What part of it more especially immur'd by the said Gods. 4
- The Number and Names of its Gates. 113
- The Game or Exercise call'd Troja. 78
- Different from the Pyrrhick Exercise or Measure. ibid.
- The Exercise of Torneaments, suppos'd by some to be thence deriv'd. ibid.
- UR [...]e. The Lots of Slaves and condemn'd Persons drawn out of an Urne. 8
- Call'd Hydria, Situla, and Sitella. ibid.
- Sortition by Lotts drawn out of Urnes threefold; Divisoria, Consultoria, Divinatoria. ibid.
- Urne of Destiny. ibid.
- Urns for conserving the Bones and Ashes of the Dead. 49
- Distinguish'd into Ossuaria, and Cineraria. ibid.
- ZAnt, an Island in the Ionian Sea, lying against the Western Coast of Peloponnesus. 95
ERRATA.
PAge 21. Line 5. read to. p. 27. l. 2. both fell. p. 43. l. 24. By that▪ p. 49. l. 3. S [...]l ri [...]g. I [...]. l. 4. Or setting. p. 59. l. ult. Let us. p. 78. l. 26. W [...]lfgangus. p. 82. l. 11. religi [...]. p. 87. l. 1. [...] p. 88. l. 27. A [...]. p. 92. l. 21. &. p. 109. l. 7. Hel [...]'s.