Pharsalia (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Lucan
- First Published: 1614
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Type of Plot: Epic
- Time of Work: 70-47
- Setting: Rome, Spain, Northern Africa, Greece, and Asia Minor
- Principal Characters: Caesar, Crassus, Julia, Pompey, Gaius Trebonnius, King Juba, Scaeva, Cato, Brutus
- Genres: Poetry, Epic, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: Dictators, History, Europe or Europeans, Poetry or poets, Antiheroes, War, Greek or Roman times, Civil wars, Battles, Greece or Greek people, Rome
- Locales: Spain, Greece, ancient, Asia Minor, Rome, ancient, Africa, ancient
The Story:
The First Triumvirate dissolved after the deaths of Crassus and Julia, who was Caesar’s wife and the daughter of Pompey. After his conquest of Gaul, Caesar advanced to the Rubicon, then stopped to consider his next move. Public morality in Rome had been corrupted by the wealth acquired from plundering its conquests, and public officials were dishonest. When Caesar decided to march on Rome, news of his decision terrified the Romans. The senate fled, and Pompey hurried to the Adriatic port of Brindisi. Realizing he had lost the allegiance of Rome, and that crossing...
[The entire page is 2060 words long]
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