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April   12th

REJECT  TANTALIZING GIFTS

“Atreus:    Who would   reject  the flood   of  fortune’s   gifts?

Thyestes: Anyone who has experienced how easily they flow back.”

—SENECA,    THYESTES,    536

hyestes is one of Seneca’s darkest and most disturbing plays. Even two thousand years later it
remains a classic of the revenge genre. Without spoiling it, the quote above comes from the scene in
which Atreus is attempting to lure his hated brother Thyestes into a cruel trap by offering him tempting
and generous gifts. At first, Thyestes declines, to the complete bafflement of his enemy.
We are typically surprised when someone turns down an expensive gift or a position of honor or
success. General William T. Sherman emphatically rejected offers to run for president of the United
States, saying at one point: “I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected.” If his friend
Ulysses S. Grant had made such a “Shermanesque statement” (as such rejections are now known), Grant
certainly would have preserved his own legacy from the disastrous turn of events it suffered.
Despite his initial misgivings, Thyestes is ultimately tempted and persuaded to accept “fortune’s
gifts,” . . . which turned out to be a ruse hiding devastating tragedy. Not every opportunity is fraught with
danger, but the play was intended to remind us that our attraction toward what is new and shiny can lead
us into serious trouble.