Civil War

Lucan's epic poem on the civil war between Caesar and Pompey (unfinished at the time of his early death), stands beside the poems of Virgil and Ovid in the first rank of Latin epic. This powerful poem has its fans and its critics - but no reader can fail to be impressed by the stark power ofLucan's condemnation of civil war.This important new translation uses English and free verse with the same number of lines as the Latin, for easy cross-reference, and will be of use to anyone interested in Lucan, in Latin epic, and the development of aepic poetry through the ages.The notes and glossary explain all names, places, customs, and allusions to mythology, history, literature, and astronomy in the poem. The substantial 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.