Civil War

Lucan's epic poem (unfinished at the time of his early death) on the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, stands beside the poems of Virgil and Ovid in the first rank of Latin epic. This translation uses English and free verse with the same number of lines as the Latin, for easy cross-reference, and should be of use of anyone interested in Lucan, in Latin epic, and the development of epic poetry through the ages. The notes and glossary explain the names, places, customs and allusions to mythology, history, literature, and astronomy in the poem. The introduction sets the scene for the reader unfamiliar with Lucan. It covers the poet and his times; the events of the civil war as a theme of poetry; and the characteristics of Lucan's poem - in particular his relationship with earlier writers of Latin epic and his interest in the sensational.