Lucans unfinished pharsalia has a more interesting subject. Lucan strongly favours the republican side and the poem has been seen as a riposte to the augustan propaganda of. Previously disparaged by critics as inferior writers, silver age writers early empire. Notes follow translation and are organized by line numbers. The cilicians wish to desert, but are recalled by cato. In lucan civile, better known as the pharsalia because of its vivid account of that battle, is remarkable as the single major latin epic poem that eschewed the intervention of the gods. We use cookies for essential site functions and for social media integration. Lucans pharsalia is an epic poem, and thus tends to offer. Susan h braunds translation of lucans civil war is a great translation.
An introduction discusses such topics as lucans treatment of his historical sources and. In 60 ce at a festival in emperor neros honour lucan praised him in a panegyric and was promoted to one or two minor offices. This text was converted to electronic form by optical character recognition and has been proofread to a medium level of accuracy. Velleius paterculus, writing nearly eighty years later, called pharsalia that most bloody day for the roman name illum cruentissimum romano nomini diem. Lines that have explanatory notes have the line number in brackets at the end of the line. Jul 05, 2016 another great poetry must read includes lucan s pharsalia or bellum civile. The theme of walls in lucan, pharsalia vi 245 human and natural, manmade walls aptly positioned on natural topography, a point that will be seen to accord well with the rest of the description. Born in corduba, he came to rome as an infant and later held the positions of quaestor and augur. Annaeus mela and nephew of seneca, was born at corduba cordova in spain and was brought as a baby to rome. The latin epic empire is seen in the pharsalia of lucan 3965 ce.
Of war i sing, war worse than civil, 1 waged over the plains of emathia, 2 and of legality conferred on crime. Up to now the ninth and longest book of lucans poem on the civil war has lacked a continuous commentary satisfying modern requirements. Emathia was apart of macedonia, but the word is used loosely for thessaly or macedonia 2 crassus had been defeated and slain by the parthians in b. He was a favorite at neros court until the emperor took offense at his precocious literary talent and prevented him from displaying it in public. In lucan s pharsalia, do the shortcomingsflaws of caesar and pompey cause the civil war, or is. Vergils poem is the work of a gentle, but gloomy, optimist. Lucan s pharsalia is an epic poem, and thus tends to offer. Even while lucan was at work on his epic, there was critical unease about the suitability of his treatment. Civil war, historical revision and the mutable past in lucan s pharsalia.
Lucan, roman poet and republican patriot whose historical epic, the bellum civile, better known as the pharsalia because of its vivid account of that battle, is remarkable as the single major latin epic poem that eschewed the intervention of the gods. Born in corduba, he came to rome as an infant and later held the. Lucans civil war is a work from the time of nero and is incomplete due to the authors death. Froude in his essay entitled divus caesar hints that these famous lines may have been written in mockery.
Following this line of interpretation, i will argue that lucan s pharsalia, the socalled antiaeneid, presents itself in the journey of pompey as a critical, almost antiphrastic revisitation of. Marcus annaeus lucanus 3965 ce, grandson of seneca the elder and nephew of seneca the younger, was a roman statesman and latin poet. Mar 07, 2012 nicole talked about the opening of civil war and the peculiar dedication to nero lucan apparently wrote the first three books of his epic before he fell out of favor with nero, and so theres been a lot of dispute over whether the praise of nero at the beginning of the poem is sincere. Pdf pharsalia as romes day of doom in lucan in american. This newly annotated, free verse translation conveys the full force of lucans writing and his grimly realistic view of the subject. The latter is the work to which the pharsalia is most naturally compared and, although lucan frequently appropriates ideas from vergils epic, he often inverts them in order to undermine their original, heroic. The epic poem pharsalia on the war between julius caesar and pompey is considered lucan s magnum opus, although it remained unfinished at his death, stopping abruptly in the middle of the 10th book. This work is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 3. I tell how an imperial people turned their victorious right hands against their own vitals.
Mar 23, 2012 in book vii lucan reaches pharsalia, the decisive battle between caesar and pompeys forces, and the indisputable climax of civil war. On the civil war, more commonly referred to as the pharsalia, is a roman epic poem written by the poet lucan, detailing the civil war between julius caesar and the forces of the roman senate led by pompey the great. Christopher marlowe, elizabethan poet and shakespeares most important predecessor in english drama, who is noted especially for his establishment of dramatic blank verse. Nicole talked about the opening of civil war and the peculiar dedication to nero lucan apparently wrote the first three books of his epic before he fell out of favor with nero, and so theres been a lot of dispute over whether the praise of nero at the beginning of the poem is sincere. Grandson of seneca the rhetorican and nephew of seneca the philosopher, lucan was born in spain and educated in rhetoric in rome. The battle of pharsalia in literary memory from caesar to lucan. Additionally, the later books of pharsalia are antiimperial and prorepublic. Cato collects the defeated forces and retreats to africa, 2664, and is joined by cornelia, 61140. Cato collects the defeated forces and retreats to africa, 2664, and is joined by cornelia. He mentioned mevania, and may have spent time there. Pharsalias fatal dawn reversed your fate, and undid the work of centuries. Lucan marcus annaeus lucanus november 3, ad 39 april 30, 65, better known in english as lucan, was a roman poet, and is one of the outstanding figures of the silver latin period. Civil war, historical revision and the mutable past in lucans pharsalia. Annaeus mela and nephew of seneca, was born at corduba cordova in spain and was brought as.
Criticism of pharsalia has regularly spilled over into criticism of the man who implicated his own mother in the plot against nero. The poem as we have it is unfinished nero ordered lucan to. Although the work has been generally known through mostof history as the pharsalia, modern scholarship tends to agreethat this was not lucans choice for a title. I sing of a worse than civil war, of war fought between kinsmen over pharsalia s plains, of wickedness deemed justice. Lucan s manner of expression is so artificial that such a version would be unintelligible to an english reader, would have. Pharsalia is why parthia still awaits stern retribution. The latin text is accompanied by a new german translation, which incorporates all the insights resulting from the detailed commentary. Before the last days of their office ended, the two consuls. This study guide consists of approximately 88 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the pharsalia. Lucan skilfully adapts virgils aeneid and the traditional elements of the epic genre often by inversion or negation as a kind of negative compositional model for his new anti. Nonetheless it is a great epic that is quite different from the others.
Marlowe was the second child and eldest son of john marlowe, a canterbury shoemaker. Lucan is the author of bellum civile civil war, a history of the war between caesar and pompey 4948 b. Quintilian singles out lucan as a writer clarissimus sententiis most famous for his sententiae, and for this. Lucans elite education made him not only eligible to hold political office but also allowed him to indulge in the writing of literature, notably his bellum civile. Humanistischen gymnasiums burghausen 190405, by lukan haslauer, adolf, and a great selection of related. Humanistischen gymnasiums burghausen 190405, by lukan haslauer, adolf, and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Lucan, a silver age writer rather than a golden age writer like vergil and horace, was popular in the middle ages but not much in modern times until about 2530 years ago, with the work of frederick ahl. But having defeated nero in a poetry contest he was interdicted from further recitals or publication. There are not many translations of lucan s civil war, sometimes titled pharsalia. There are not many translations of lucans civil war, sometimes titled pharsalia. Winter had now sprinkled mount haemus with snow, and the pleiades, daughters of atlas, were already setting in wintry skies. Lucan wrote with his already claustrophobic world closing in on him.
Lucans epic poem on the civil war between caesar and pompey, unfinished at the time of his death, stands beside the poems of virgil and ovid in the first rank of latin epic. Lucan was heavily influenced by latin poetic tradition, notably ovids metamorphoses and vergils aeneid. The poem as we have it is unfinished nero ordered lucan to commit suicide at the age of 25, but whats left is a fairly. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The pharsalia has not been previously translated into english prose. Lucan s civil war is a work from the time of nero and is incomplete due to the authors death. Thanks to that blooddrenched day, india has no fear of roman law, no consul makes the nomad dahae live behind walls, or with girt robe founds a colony in sarmatia, tracing it with the plough. The new year was approaching, that day on the calendar when the rites of janus, ruler of the months, commence. Shelley actually preferred lucan to virgil and immortalised his name in the adonais. Statiuss ode to lucan mentions that lucan described how the unspeakable flames of the criminal tyrant roamed the heights of remus. Lucan was born in cordoba in presentday spain, and was the nephew of seneca the younger. In this historical epic, cato, caesar, and pompey are depicted respectively as moral, warlike, and popular in a way that gives the story a clear trifunctional structure. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.
Among his epic predecessors, lucan was influenced by both vergils aeneid and ovids metamorphoses, in addition to other earlier latin. In book vii lucan reaches pharsalia, the decisive battle between caesar and pompeys forces, and the indisputable climax of civil war. Though it is clear that the fortunefavored caesar is in ascent and the tired, hesitant pompey is doomed, this is not a battle between two generals but between. Another great poetry must read includes lucans pharsalia or bellum civile. Pharsalia is, of course, patterned on the aeneid, but as the translator, jane joyce, also points out, the main difference is in tone.
Susan h braunds translation of lucan s civil war is a great translation. The battle of pharsalia in literary memory from caesar to lucan during his narration of the battle of pharsalia, the neronian poet lucan makes the arresting claim that, while rome has marked other days of defeat on the calendar such as cannae and allia, it has wanted to remain ignorant of this day hunc voluit nescire diem, 7. The translation does not profess to be a literal version of the original. Following this line of interpretation, i will argue that lucans pharsalia, the socalled antiaeneid, presents itself in the journey of pompey as a critical, almost antiphrastic revisitation of. Medusa and cato in lucan, pharsalia 9 durham research online. Although incomplete, it is often considered the greatest epic poem of the silver age of latin literature, and it tells the story of the civil war between julius caesar and the forces of the roman senate led by pompey. An xml version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer perseus any modifications you make. The unfinished pharsalia narrates the roman civil wars first phase, which ended almost thirty years later in the. Written during the reign of nero, lucans civil war was arguably the last great epic poem written in antiquity at least in the west. Pharsalia aka the civil war by lucan marcus annaeus lucanus. Translated from the original latin, rowe retells in stunning verse the gripping story of the events leading to up to the death of the roman republic on the battlefields of pharsalia. Lucans pharsalia contains two prominent mythic excurses. In lucans pharsalia, do the shortcomingsflaws of caesar and pompey cause the civil war, or is.
The battle of pharsalia in literary memory from caesar to. Marcus annaeus lucanus ancient history encyclopedia. Civil war is the only surviving work of lucan, a roman writer from the 1st century. The poems title is a reference to the battle of pharsalus, which occurred in 48 bc, near pharsalus. Lucans original unfinished work is supplemented by the later english poet thomas may. It consists of ten books, of which the last appears to be incomplete, breaking off during caesars campaign in egypt. Lucan, the civil war pharsalia loeb classical library.
59 1580 1527 1681 83 318 815 578 696 491 1054 1266 394 1345 1151 1435 212 184 1524 1554 1137 709 1568 1608 882 173 1455 915 512 158 142 469 1346 126 129 353 946 118