Pragmatics of fraus: Encoding and Decoding of Deceit in Seneca’s Troades and Thyestes

Abstract

The paper aims at exploring the most relevant strategies of encoding and decoding of fraus and simulatio in Seneca’s tragedies, especially in Troades and Thyestes, from both a pragmatic and a dramaturgical point of view. In this perspective, it also provides a working definition of fraus, having regard to the Roman cultural categories involved in the communication dynamics portrayed by Seneca.