I finished reading The Trojan Women by Seneca (translated by E. F. Watling), a tragedy written in the first century AD. This might be my favorite of Seneca’s plays thus far.

It tells the fate of Polyxena and Astyanax after the fall of Troy at the hands of the conquering Greeks. This is a familiar part of the tale of Troy, as it was beautifully told by Euripides several centuries earlier. Both plays relate the suffering of Hecuba (Queen of the fallen Troy, mother of Polyxena, and widow of Priam) and Andromache (mother of Astyanax and widow of Hector).

Seneca’s version also humanizes Helen in an interesting way, as well as includes characters only referenced by Euripides (Ulysses, Pyrrhus (son of Achilles), the prophet Calchas).

This translation was full of incredibly moving, lyrical passages. Seneca casts both Polyxena and Astyanax as individuals who face their tragic destiny with profound dignity and resolve.

Fill your hands with dust, it is all we can take 

Away from Troy.