Putting the "I" into "Ovid": Seneca's Apocolocyntosis as Fan Fiction

Abstract

ABSTRACT:This article suggests a novel approach for the interpretation of Seneca's Apocolocyntosis. I argue that the text represents Seneca's attempt to lay claim to the Metamorphoses, a canonical poem influential on his own corpus, by engaging in a virtual rewrite of that text. I call this phenomenon fan fiction, since the character of Diespiter, in suggesting that Claudius' deification be added to the Metamorphoses, meets Hellekson and Busse's criteria for fan fiction; that is, user-generated content inspired by canonical material. Seneca thus not only interacts creatively with Ovid's epic but also carves out a place in the literary tradition for himself and his parodic portrayal of Claudius. References to Seneca's Thyestes help flesh out the author's unique engagement with the Latin literary canon.