Pharsalia (Masters of Latin Literature)

I teach the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, and Dante's Divine Comedy, so I'm fairly familiar with the epic genre. But I had never read Pharsalia until this past summer. I really only picked it up because Dante references it so much. I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about. Though the book is nominally about the battle of Pharsalus, which occurred during the civil wars between Julius Caesar and Pompey Magnus, it is more, as the introduction says, a book about "politics and psychology, of disastrous patterns of behavior, and the compulsion to repeat them...it is about the day Romans brought the Roman Republic to an end, the day the world turned its sword against its own vitals." Pharsalia is, of course, patterned on the Aeneid, but as the translator, Jane Joyce, also points out, the main difference is in tone. "Vergil's poem is the work of a gentle, but gloomy, optimist; Lucan's, of an angry and bitter pessimist." And it is amazing. I thought I had read the best battle scenes I would ever read in the Iliad - but Pharsalia equals and occasionally tops those. Listen to this individual death during the sea battle at Massilia in Book III - Lucan means to compare this one death to the whole civil war:...While Catus is fighting on this ship's highpoop deck and - bold man! - is grasping a Greek stern-ornament,he is pierced, back and chest alike, by two spears thrownsimultaneously. Inside his chest, iron collides,and his blood stops, undecided from which wound it should flow,until copious gore thrusts out both javelins at once,dividing his soul and splitting his death between two wounds.I can't figure out why Lucan has lapsed into obscurity, and I'm certainly going to try to present him to my students more. Pharsalia is a one of a handful of classical works that should be part of the Western canon that is commonly taught, and a fitting partner to the Aeneid. Get the translation by Jane Wilson Joyce - it is BRILLIANT, with lots of helpful notes. I wish this had a Kindle version, but given its relatively unknown status, it probably never will.

The quality said it had only minor writing in it .. but this book was covered in writing and underlines that even went through words. The book is in sturdy shape though. It looks like it used to be a library book.Pharsalia is a great history if you are really interested in Caesar! It is a high level reading ... donit can be difficult at times. It is a great challenge to sharpen the mind!

If you've ever wanted to read a Latin author who writes a great story; this one by Marcus Annaeus Lucanus fills the bill. His ten books (10th unfinished ) of PHARSALIA weaves a vision of Roman Civil war as seen by the losing Republican army led by Pompey. Caesar's image/ reputation in most history books will receive some shadows and questions. Lucan was achildhood friend of Nero, who apparently had the author executed while writing this epic, hence the unfinished last book. If you like Roman History, you'll also be reviewing mythical inferences and ancient geography. Really good epic poem!

Roman prodigy Lucan was merely 25 years old in 65 A D when he committed suicide to avoid Nero’s retribution. His major work, Pharsalia or Civil War is an epic masterpiece of contradictory brilliance, even in translation.The 2012 Penguin translation by Matthew Fox, to me, is mundane compared to the 1993 Cornell UP translation by Jane Wilson Joyce. For example, this metaphor depicting the ferocity and courage of Caesar when crossing the Rubicon, Matthew Fox (1.223-30) translates “As in the wild fields of heat-blistering Libya a lion sees his foe close at hand and doubts, crouching down while he gathers up his rage; but then, once he’s lashed himself with his savage tail, bristled his mane and let forth a mighty roar from his massive jaws, then, should an agile Moor twist a lance that strikes, or a spear pierce his wide chest, heedless of such wounds it runs him out and through.”while Jane Wilson Joyce (1.205-12) has “. . . imagine the parched savannahsof sweltering Lybia: a lion has sighted a nearby foe;he crouches down, hesitant, while he rouses his anger;and soon, when he has whipped himself up with his savage tail,with mane erect and a throaty grumble from gaping jaws,he lets out a roar; then, if a lance flung by a Moorshould pierce him, or hunting spears sink in his broad chest,he runs on despite the steel, ignoring his grevious wound.”To me, a mere wannabe dilletante with no Latin, the latter translation has a lustre that the former lacks, and this applies throughout wherever I directly compare versions. So the Cornell UP version seems much more vibrant, less vanilla. It also has a more extensive Glossary.BUT, the Penguin version Notes are wonderfully voluminous and detailed, moreso than anything I’ve encounted in my long life (and I read lots of learned books). Aimed at readers who seek information rather than academic apparatus type references, there is a wealth of learning to be had in the over 100 pages of highly pertinent information. Also the Notes include a multitude of intertextual references which are very relevant most of the time. The Cornell UP version has no Notes.So, I conclude that the Penguin version is aimed more at the interested pleb, whereas the Cornell UP version is aimed at the classics-trained congnoscenti. It’s more difficult but much more fun.