Intertextuality in Seneca the Elder
This chapter consists of two parts, both of which centre upon intertextuality in the Controversiae and Suasoriae and place special emphasis on Seneca’s use of allusion. Pingoud outlines the role played by Cicero, Ovid, Horace, and Lucretius on the language of Senecan declamation by examining how Seneca imitates these authors both to teach and to entertain his audience. Rolle similarly explores the ramifications of intertextuality on Seneca’s writing by investigating how Greek oratorical texts influenced Latro’s characterization (Controversiae 1.praef). She reveals that every aspect of Latro—from his voice to his physical appearance—is based on Greek ideals of the ideal declaimer, but notes the subtle ways in which Latro’s persona is deliberately and pointedly set apart from that of Demosthenes.