Tra impia caedes e pium furtum: lotta di parole nell'Agamemnon di Seneca

This paper proposes the analysis of some of the aspects of the doli committed in Seneca’s Agamemnon. On the one hand, the focus is on the use of the vocabulary of values by both the executioners and victims; on the other hand, in particular on the counter-deception represented by the pium furtum perpetrated by Electra to the detriment of Clytemnestra, an action that is specular and opposite to the main deception, not only for values but also for language. With regard to the impia caedes done by her mother with the aid of her lover Aegis, Orestes’ abduction by her sister represents, in all respects, an example of ‘good’ deception, and as such positively connoted and denoted.