Seneca was an Hispano-Roman Stoic philosopher and tragedian. His plays were widely read in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, and strongly influenced tragic drama in Elizabethan England (Shakespeare and others) and in France (Corneille and Racine). During the period, Seneca was "a sage admired and venerated as an oracle of moral, even of Christian edification; a master of literary style and a model of dramatic art." Thyestes is considered Seneca's masterpiece, and has been described by scholar Dana Gioia as "one of the most influential plays ever written.” Please watch this chilling performance HERE.