Pharsalia
Lucan's unfinished epic of Roman civil war.
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De Bello Civili, more commonly referred to as the Pharsalia, is a Roman epic poem by Lucan detailing the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Great. The poem's title references the Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC).
Quick Facts
- Author
- Lucan
- Genre
- Epic poem
- Language
- Latin
- Period
- Neronian
- Books completed
- 10
- Subject
- Civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great
- Notable feature
- Eschews divine intervention
Facts from the source article.
Background
The poem was begun around AD 61 and several books were in circulation before Lucan and Emperor Nero had a bitter falling out. Lucan continued work despite Nero's prohibition against publication, and it was left unfinished when Lucan was compelled to suicide as part of the Pisonian conspiracy in AD 65. Ten books survive; the tenth breaks off abruptly with Caesar in Egypt.
Did You Know?
- The Pharsalia was especially popular in times of civil wars; a 1592 edition's editor, Theodor Pulmann, explained Lucan's relevance by the French Wars of Religion (1562–98).
- Translator J. D. Duff argued that 'no reasonable judgment can rank Lucan among the world's great epic poets,' but noted the work eschews divine intervention.
- Commentator Philip Hardie in 2013 said the poem has undergone a thorough critical re-evaluation to re-emerge as a major expression of Neronian politics and aesthetics.
More in Epic Poetry & Myth
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Pharsalia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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