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Civil War
Lucan's 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. This newly annotated, free verse translation conveys the full force of Lucan's writing and his grimly realistic view of the subject. The work is a powerful condemnation of civil war, emphasizing the s...more
Paperback, 335 pages
Published
July 1st 2008
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published 65)
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Lucan was a contemporary of Nero, and in fact died at the age of 25 when he slit his own wrists after being discovered being involved in a plot to overthrow Nero (it seems as if this was a dignified way to die in the early empire). As such Lucan's poem regaridng the civil war between Ceaser and Pompey remains unfinished. It is clear from the text that Lucan does not like Julius Ceaser, and that the translator of the version I read (Robert Graves) does not particularly like Lucan. So, if the tra...more
Dec 10, 2008
Meghan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of gore, Classics, and the end of the Republic
Shelves:
in-translation,
favorite,
fiction,
in-latin,
own,
poetry,
quotable,
read-for-class,
to-re-read
Delightful. Don't let its status as an epic or the fact that it's incomplete put you off. I had to slog my way painfully through Homer and Vergil, but I couldn't put this down. Filled with gory details and weird supernatural events, Lucan is nothing if not entertaining. People in battle scenes die in disgusting and creative ways, including being crushed between ships and having gore pour out of their mouths and having gushes of blood squirt spears out of their bodies. The witch, Erictho, who app...more
Bombastic poetry decrying the perversion of former and current times, this Roman epic poem from the 1st century AD is less art and more political protest. The author himself was compelled to commit suicide after being implicated in a plot to assassinate Emperor Nero, leaving the work unfinished and for the most part unpolished. Lucan hatefully describes the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey, the verses are loaded with histrionics on the corruption of Roman values and gleeful description...more
This book is a tough read. A product of Silver Age epic, it requires a thorough knowledge of Virgil and Julius Caesar's Civil Wars to appreciate the genius that went into this book. Granted it is incomplete (ending at book 10 rather than 12) and Lucan is a bit verbose, but the way in which he alters the epic paradigm and reshapes famous scenes from Virgil is fantastic. You can also add courage to Lucan's genius in that he wrote this anti-emperor panegyric under the reign of the paranoid Nero. Wh...more
Civil War is the only surviving work of Lucan, a Roman writer from the 1st century. Written during the reign of Nero, Lucan’s Civil War was arguably the last great epic poem written in antiquity (at least in the West). The poem as we have it is unfinished (Nero ordered Lucan to commit suicide at the age of 25), but what’s left is a fairly complete story of the war between Julius Caesar and Sextus Pompey, all the way to its grisly end.
“They all bought, but he sold Rome.” IV. 824
The Oxford World’s...more
“They all bought, but he sold Rome.” IV. 824
The Oxford World’s...more
1 like · like · see review
This book was both fascinating and boring. Not in turns - simultaneously. I've never read anything else like it - I would be falling asleep while wanting to turn the page. And it keeps on lumbering away, in it's enthrallingly tedious way, until chapter 6.
And suddenly it turns into Conan the Barbarian.
Or something very similar. Lucan goes from a grandiose if straightforward account of the end of the Republic right into the Thessalian Witches. These are magicians so powerful that it leads to a the...more
And suddenly it turns into Conan the Barbarian.
Or something very similar. Lucan goes from a grandiose if straightforward account of the end of the Republic right into the Thessalian Witches. These are magicians so powerful that it leads to a the...more
re-reading this one. it has been a while. i read it in college but only in snippets given as packets. im extremely happy i never had to translate it because i hear that is insanely hard.
i just bought this copy from half.com and im really happy to finally own this. so far the translation seems really good and the small biography on Lucan in the first part of the book is really good as well. i entirely forgot that his grandfather was Seneca the Elder! and Seneca the Younger was his uncle, who tut...more
i just bought this copy from half.com and im really happy to finally own this. so far the translation seems really good and the small biography on Lucan in the first part of the book is really good as well. i entirely forgot that his grandfather was Seneca the Elder! and Seneca the Younger was his uncle, who tut...more
I ended up reading this for a paper for my Ancient Rome class. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't had to read it and do the paper all in the same week. I might reread it one day, to see if I would have enjoyed it otherwise. I enjoyed reading Virgil's Aeneid and Cicero's Selected Works, which I also had to read for my A. Rome class, so I don't think it's a reflection on the author (or the book) that I didn't enjoy the book, but a personal failing and a lack of time on my part.
Apr 26, 2011
Me
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ancient-classics,
partially-read
Read the first 4 books. Very gory.
Apr 25, 2013
Janet
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
coz-they-made-me-read-it
Liked it but didn't have time to read in its entirity, but will some day!
Gory and weird. Lucan is a master of characterization, which becomes clear every time a sympathetic character is revealed as corrupt or narrow minded. The reader is consistently challenged to question the subtext of her own sympathies.
Jul 19, 2008
junia
marked it as gave-up
·
review of another edition
Recommended to junia by:
CL 100
Shelves:
school
i read the introduction, and probably the first few pages....
I somehow managed to achieve a tolerable grade without having read this book and having missed the lectures (I was sick.. really!)...
Alas, alack.
Where is my CULTURE?!
I somehow managed to achieve a tolerable grade without having read this book and having missed the lectures (I was sick.. really!)...
Alas, alack.
Where is my CULTURE?!
It's alright. Some of it is a little hard to follow but the gorey bloody bits were pretty good. I don't like Lucan half as much as I like Statius or Ovid.
I'm actually reading the Robert Graves translation, which I was too lazy to import manually. I love his informal introductions. So far, it's very enjoyable.
This book is better than the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid and it is a shame that it has not been read by more people.
Excellent and readable translation.
The ancient Roman equivalent of Sean Hannity writing an epic paean about George Bush's war in Iraq.
Not for the impatient or squeamish. The work is also unfinished.
extremely hard to read, but interesting.
The very definition of a lost classic.
incomplete but mindblowing
Bilingual edition preferred.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lucan translations - anyone have a good one? | 4 | 10 | Apr 22, 2012 05:18pm |
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“God cheats men into living on by hiding how blessed it is to die.”
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“hic sacra domus carique penates, hic mihi Roma fuit.”
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Sep 14, 2012 10:31am