Lucan - Complete Works of Lucan

The Complete Works of

LUCAN

(39 AD 65 AD)

Contents

Delphi Classics 2014

Version 1

The Complete Works of

LUCAN

By Delphi Classics, 2014

Complete Works of Lucan

First published in the United Kingdom in 2014 by Delphi Classics.

Delphi Classics, 2014.

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Crdoba (Corduba), Andalusia, Spain Lucans birthplace

Roman ruins in Cordoba archaeological site of Cercadilla including the remains of one of Maximians palaces

Lucans sole surviving work, the epic poem De Bello Civili , recounts the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate, led by Pompey the Great. One of the poems other titles, The Pharsalia , refers to the Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC), the climatic event of the seventh book, which occurred near Pharsalus, Thessaly, in northern Greece, when Caesar decisively defeated Pompey. The poem is widely considered to be among the most accomplished works of epic poetry from the Silver Age of Latin literature.

It is believed that the epic was begun circa 61 AD and several books were in circulation before the Emperor Nero and Lucan had a bitter disagreement. In spite of Neros prohibition against any publication of his poetry, Lucan continued to work on De Bello Civili and it was left unfinished when he was compelled to commit suicide as part of the Pisonian conspiracy in 65 AD. A total of ten books were written and all survive, with the final book breaking off abruptly following a description of Caesars arrival in Egypt.

The first book opens with a brief introduction that laments the fate of Romans fighting Romans in a civil war, with an ostensibly flattering dedication to Nero. The main narrative then begins, with Julius Caesar being introduced in northern Italy. Despite an urgent plea from the Roman Senate to lay down his arms, Caesar crosses the Rubicon, rallying his troops and marching south to Rome, joined by Curio on his way. The book culminates with panic in the city, foreboding portents and visions of the tragedies to come.

Many of the real-life characters are portrayed throughout the poem in unflattering and often very flawed and unattractive guises. Caesar is depicted as a cruel despot with a vindictive streak, while Pompey appears weak and uninspiring. Far from glorious, the battle scenes are presented as realistic portrayals of bloody horror, where nature is ravaged to build terrible siege engines and wild animals tear mercilessly at the flesh of the dead. The only exception to the generally bleak portrayals is Cato, who stands alone, representing his Stoic ideal and the fallen Republic, in the face of a dangerous world seemingly turned insane.

Nevertheless, after the Battle of Pharsalus, Pompeys character transforms, becoming instead a stoic martyr-like figure, who is calm in the face of certain death, as he arrives in Egypt and in the ninth book he receives from the poet a virtual canonisation. Lucans favouring of Stoic and Republican principles is in sharp contrast to the ambitious and imperial Caesar, who becomes an even greater tyrant after the decisive battle, clearly serving as a parallel to Nero.

Like most poets of the time, Lucan received the rhetorical training common to upper-class young Roman men. The suasoria a school exercise where students wrote speeches advising an historical figure on a course of action no doubt inspired Lucan to compose some of the speeches found in the text. Lucans poetic style is notably influenced by Ovids Metamorphoses as he presents his narrative as a series of discrete episodes often without any transitional or scene-changing lines and, of course, Virgils grand epic Aeneid . Lucan frequently appropriates ideas from Virgils poem, inverting them to undermine their original purpose. For example, the scene narrating Sextus visit to the Thracian witch Erichtho is influenced by Aeneas descent into the underworld, but where Virgils description highlights optimism toward the future glories of Rome under Augustan rule, Lucan utilises the scene to present bitter pessimism concerning the loss of liberty under the coming Empire (Neros rule).

De Bello Civili was popular soon after its first publication and it remained a school text in late antiquity and during the Middle Ages. Today, over 400 manuscripts survive and its interest to the court of Charlemagne is demonstrated by the existence of five complete manuscripts from the ninth century. Interestingly, Dante includes Lucan among other classical poets in the first circle of the Inferno and the Renaissance poet draws on material from De Bello Civili in his Divine Comedy.

Gaius Julius Caesar (100 BC44 BC)

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (106 BC48 BC), Pompey the Great, was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. Pompeys immense success as a general while still young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without meeting the normal requirements for office.

Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (95 BC-46 BC), commonly known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather Cato the Elder, was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic and a follower of the Stoic philosophy. A noted orator, he is remembered for his stubbornness and tenacity when opposed to Julius Caesar, as well as his immunity to bribes, his moral integrity and his aversion for the corruption of the time.

Caesar Crossing the Rubicon by Tancredi Scarpelli a key early event of the epic poem