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Agathocle
'' Agathocle '' is the last dramatic tragedy by Voltaire. It was written by the 84-year-old author in 1777 almost simultaneously with the tragedy '' Irène'', only months before he died. It was not performed on the public stage until the first anniversary of his death. Composition Voltaire sent a copy of the manuscript to his friend d'Argental in August 1777, describing it to him as 'too cold and insipid' and urging him not to let anyone else see it. A month later, after further work, he was more confident about it, and hoped that the marvel of a play from an 84-year-old would soften the harshness of the critics. However of his two new plays he gradually came to consider that ''Irène'' would work better on stage, and it was indeed that work which was rehearsed and performed while he was alive. He wrote again to d'Argental on 25 October to say that he felt ''Agathocle'' was only suitable for performing 'at the Olympic Games of some school of Platonic philosophy. I'm sending you ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agathocles Of Syracuse
Agathocles ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθοκλῆς, ''Agathoklḗs''; 361–289 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse (317–289 BC) and self-styled king of Sicily (304–289 BC). Biography Agathocles was born at Thermae Himeraeae (modern name Termini Imerese) in Sicily. The son of a potter who had moved to Syracuse in about 343 BC, he learned his father's trade, but afterwards entered the army along with his brother Antander. In 333 BC he married the widow of his patron Damas, a distinguished and wealthy citizen. He was twice banished for attempting to overthrow the oligarchical party in Syracuse. In 317 BC he returned with an army of mercenaries under a solemn oath to observe the democratic constitution which was established after they took the city. Having massacred the oligarchs and the richest of the citizenry, he thus made himself master of Syracuse, and he created a strong army and fleet and subdued the greater part of Sicily. War with Carthage follo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syracuse, Sicily
Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, wikt:Συράκουσαι, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, wikt:Συράκοσαι, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûsai, ; el, label=Modern Greek language, Modern Greek, Συρακούσες, Syrakoúses, . is a historic city on the Italy, Italian island of Sicily, the capital of the Italian province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek and Roman history, Greek culture, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the pre-eminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in ancient times, when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world. Syracuse is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, next to the Gulf of Syracuse beside the Ionian Sea. It is situated in a drastic rise of land with depths being close to the city offshore although the city itself is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irène (tragedy)
'' Irène '' is a tragedy in five acts by Voltaire, and his penultimate play. It was written in 1776–1777 and premiered in Paris on March 16, 1778. Composition Recent scholarship has suggested that the original inspiration for the story, though not its setting, was an account of the death of a young woman in China who prayed for death rather than betrayal of her faith. At the time he was working on the early versions of the play, Voltaire was reading ''Mémoires concernant l’histoire, les sciences, les arts, les mœurs, les usages, etc., des Chinois'' by the Jesuit priest Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and corresponding with d'Alembert and Diderot about what he read. The theme of a woman who chooses death before disloyalty is also classically Confucian. The play was written as part of Voltaire's plan to make a triumphal return to Paris after having spent nearly twenty years in self-imposed exile in Ferney. He wished to end his life with a great theatrical success that would secure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—especially Criticism of the Catholic Church, of the Roman Catholic Church—and of slavery. Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including stageplay, plays, poems, novels, essays, histories, and scientific Exposition (narrative), expositions. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy. His polemics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classical world. The city developed from a Canaanite Phoenician colony into the capital of a Punic empire which dominated large parts of the Southwest Mediterranean during the first millennium BC. The legendary Queen Alyssa or Dido, originally from Tyre, is regarded as the founder of the city, though her historicity has been questioned. According to accounts by Timaeus of Tauromenium, she purchased from a local tribe the amount of land that could be covered by an oxhide. As Carthage prospered at home, the polity sent colonists abroad as well as magistrates to rule the colonies. The ancient city was destroyed in the nearly-three year siege of Carthage by the Roman Republic during the Third Punic War in 146 BC and then re-developed as Roman Car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1779 Plays
Events January–March * January 11 – British troops surrender to the Marathas in Wadgaon, India, and are forced to return all territories acquired since 1773. * January 11 – Ching-Thang Khomba is crowned King of Manipur. * January 22 – American Revolutionary War – Claudius Smith is hanged at Goshen, Orange County, New York for supposed acts of terrorism upon the people of the surrounding communities. * January 29 – After a second petition for partition from its residents, the North Carolina General Assembly abolishes Bute County, North Carolina (established 1764) by dividing it and naming the northern portion Warren County (for Revolutionary War hero Joseph Warren), the southern portion Franklin County (for Benjamin Franklin). The General Assembly also establishes Warrenton (also named for Joseph Warren) to be the seat of Warren County, and Louisburg (named for Louis XVI of France) to be the seat of Franklin County. * February 12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1779 In France
Events in the year 1779 in France. Incumbents *Monarch: Louis XVI Events *12 April - Treaty of Aranjuez (1779) *June–September - Armada of 1779 *2-4 July - Capture of Grenada (1779) *6 July - Battle of Grenada *6 October - Action of 6 October 1779 Births *7 October - Louis Charles, Count of Beaujolais Louis Charles Alphonse Léodgard d'Orléans, Count of Beaujolais (7 October 1779 – 30 May 1808) was a French prince of the blood, son of Philippe Égalité and the younger brother of King Louis-Philippe I of the French. Biography Louis C ..., younger brother of King Louis-Philippe I of the French Deaths References {{Year in Europe, 1779 1770s in France ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-François De La Harpe
Jean-François de La Harpe (20 November 173911 February 1803) was a French playwright, writer and literary critic. Life La Harpe was born in Paris of poor parents. His father, who signed himself Delharpe, was a descendant of a noble family originally of Vaud. Left an orphan at the age of nine, La Harpe was taken care of for six months by the Sisters of Charity, and his education was provided for by a scholarship at the Collège d'Harcourt, now known as the Lycée Saint-Louis. When nineteen he was imprisoned for some months on the charge of having written a satire against his protectors at the college. He was imprisoned at For-l'Évêque. La Harpe always denied his guilt, but this culminating misfortune of an early life spent entirely in the position of a dependent possibly had something to do with the bitterness he evinced in later life. Citations: * Sainte-Beuve, ''Causeries du lundi'', vol. v In 1763, his tragedy of ''Warwick'' was played before the court. This, his first pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence (actor)
Nicolas-Joseph Billot de La Ferrière, stage-name Florence (4 March 1749, Léry - 25 June 1816, rue Traversière, Paris) was a French actor. He began his career in 1771 at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and moved to Versailles in 1777 in Mme Montansier's company. Also in 1777 he made his anonymous début at the Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ..., but was only received into its company after a second on 7 May 1778. He was admitted as a sociétaire in April 1779, and devoted the next 25 years to the Comédie-Française's interests, making them forget his lack of talent. Imprisoned with several other actors during the Reign of Terror, he owed his safe release to La Bussière. He retired in 1804 and died in 1816. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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