The Pharsalia

by Lucan

Start Free Trial

Characters

Download PDF PDF Page Citation Cite Share Link Share

Achillas

Achillas, the Egyptian emissary, carries out the grim task of ending Pompey's life at the behest of Pharaoh Ptolemy and his council. Yet, in a twist of fate, his own life is claimed by the Egyptian princess Arsinoe.

Arruns

Arruns, hailed as the eldest among the Etruscan prophets, is summoned to Rome in the inaugural book to conduct the age-old rituals of divination. As he examines the sacrificial bull's organs, he unveils a dire prophecy: "What we fear is unspeakable, but worse will follow."

Brutus

Brutus, a Roman senator steeped in Stoicism, traces his lineage to the illustrious Brutus who expelled the tyrant Tarquin Superbus and established the Republic. Initially, Brutus stands aloof, avoiding the entanglement of civil war to face the eventual victor, be it Pompey or Caesar. However, Cato's persuasion leads him to Pompey's side. He ultimately positions himself as an adversary. In 44 B.C., Brutus, alongside Cassius, orchestrates the infamous assassination of Caesar.

Caesar

In Pharsalia, Caesar emerges as the 'antihero,' a Roman general with lineage tracing back to Iules, son of the Trojan prince Aeneas and grandson of Venus. Though fortune favors him, he is ever ready to seize and shape his own destiny. Renowned for his military prowess and personal valor, he earns the loyalty of his men. While history recalls his clemency, Lucan casts this quality aside.

Cato

Cato stands as the moral compass, if not the hero, of Pharsalia, often seen as the epitome of Stoic virtues dedicated to the Roman state. Yet some critics argue Lucan undermines his ideals. Johnson references a Stoic text suggesting Cato embodies every virtue but lacks humility. Cato aligns with Pompey to uphold the Republic's ideals, ensuring victory serves Rome, not personal ambition. Ahl depicts Cato as a symbol, urging self-reliance over allegiance. His portrayal resonates with Christian themes of sacrifice: "This blood redeem the people, this death pay the penalty of whatever Rome's corruption deserves." However, the narrative paints him as solitary in his devotion to the Republic, likening him to a grieving father.

Cicero

Despite his near absence in the poem, Cicero's legacy as the greatest orator and a pivotal Roman politician spanning nearly four decades remains vivid. Not a soldier, Cicero strived for consensus among Rome's virtuous citizens. Though absent from the battlefield, Lucan grants him an ironic speech urging Pompey, fortune's favored, to claim victory in the gods' cause.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra, queen and sister to Egypt's young king Ptolemy, allies herself with Caesar, distracting him from his martial pursuits. Lucan suggests that, surprisingly, civil war seems preferable to Caesar's entanglement with Cleopatra.

Cornelia

Widow of Crassus's son, who perished with his father at Carrhae, Cornelia marries Pompey. The people of Lesbos reveal her genuine charm as she departs with her husband. Cornelia perceives herself as an omen of misfortune to Pompey.

Lucius Ahenobarbus Domitius

Lucius Ahenobarbus Domitius, an ancestor of Nero, receives Lucan's respect not to flatter Nero, but for being a steadfast republican who fell in the Battle of Pharsalia.

Erictho

Erictho, the preeminent Thracian witch, gladly obliges to commune with the god at Delphi. Renowned among the witches, she transcends their traditional craft, crafting spells anew. In many respects, she mirrors Caesar's ambitions.

Figulus

As an astrologer, Figulus's celestial readings corroborate Arruns's grim prophecies. He foresees that peace portends the demise of freedom, urging Romans to shun prayers for peace, as its advent heralds their bondage.

Crassus

Alongside Pompey and Caesar, Crassus held sway over Roman politics until he and his son, Cornelia's first spouse, met their end against the Parthians, the ancient Iranians.

Curio

Once a champion...

(This entire section contains 1688 words.)

Unlock this Study Guide Now

Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.

Get 48 Hours Free Access

of law and liberty, Curio, a people's tribune, compels Caesar to defy the Senate, igniting conflict among Romans. Lucan condemns Curio as more wretched than Caesar, for while Caesar purchased freedom, Curio sold it. His demise is depicted as a tribute to the uneasy spirits of Carthage.

Deiotarius

Once a client king ruling a corner of Asia Minor under the imperial aegis of Rome, he stood as a steadfast ally to Pompey and the cause of the republic. Cloaked in the guise of a destitute wanderer, he embarked on a clandestine venture at Pompey's behest—an urgent mission to the Parthian king in the heart of what is now Iran, a landscape steeped in ancient secrets.

Gnaeus Pompeius

As the firstborn of Pompey, he bore the weight of his father's ambitions, journeying across the vast Roman territories to muster troops and allies, spreading the cause of the republic like fire igniting the dry earth.

Iuba

Reigning as king of Libya, he crushed Curio's forces, embodying the ageless rivalry between the illustrious powers of Rome and Carthage, a shadow of past conflicts echoing into the present.

Julia

A daughter destined to be Caesar’s only progeny and the cherished wife of Pompey, Julia was born of his young, beloved first wife, Cornelia, who departed too soon. With the civil war's storm gathering, Julia lay in the silent embrace of death, while Pompey wed another Cornelia, the bereaved widow of Crassus' ill-fated son. Book III unveils her spectral return, an apparition of fury, haunting Pompey's dreams with foresight of his impending doom and the bloodshed of civil strife. Her spirit seethed with displeasure at Pompey's hasty remarriage, vowing to haunt his battles as a ghostly reminder that this war, as Lucan declared in Pharsalia, was not merely a conflict among citizens, but a fratricidal struggle.

Laelius

Laelius, the venerable centurion within Caesar's ranks, delivered a rousing oration in Book I, securing the army’s allegiance to Caesar’s cause of civil unrest. His unwavering fidelity to Caesar over the republic or familial ties epitomizes the perilous shift in the late Roman republic—a loyalty not to nation but to charismatic commanders like Sulla, Marius, Pompey, and Caesar, who rose as dictator warlords. In Lucan's younger days, this steadfast devotion to Caesar's lineage quashed a restoration of the republic post-Caligula’s assassination, a loyalty persisting through Nero’s demise.

Lagus

See Ptolemy.

Publius Cornelius Lentulus

As one of the consuls of 49 B.C., Publius Cornelius Lentulus assembled the senate in Epirus and led the republican left flank at Pharsalia. In Book VIII, he champions the resistance against involving the Parthians in the conflict.

Magnus

See Pompey.

Marcia

Marcia, Cato's spouse and the mother of his progeny, once parted ways with him for Hortensius, a friend in need of an heir. With Hortensius now departed in Book II, Marcia approaches Cato from the funeral pyre, seeking to reunite in matrimony, standing by his side in his quest for Rome's salvation and to end her days as his lawful wife. To some, Marcia stands as a living emblem of Rome herself.

Marius

A formidable Roman general and dictator, Marius was wed to Caesar's aunt and stood against Sulla in the annals of Rome's storied past.

Metellus

The daring tribune Metellus attempted to thwart Caesar's plundering of the public treasury to fund his legions. Lucan cynically notes, however, that it was not courage but his avarice that rendered him fearless.

Old Roman Man

Within the pages of Book II, an aged Roman recalls the agony and terror of Sulla’s era of civil war and proscriptions. He is mirrored by the prophetic matron of Book I. His grim recounting of slaughter, mutilation, and the heartless desecration of the fallen echoes eerily through every skirmish of the civil war.

Pompey

Pompey, or Magnus, emerges as both a triumphant general and astute politician, striving to cast off the shadow of his affiliation with the cruel dictator Sulla. The narrative often splits him into dual personas: one as violent and power-hungry as Caesar, the other as the champion of libertas, a flawed hero, yet, as Cato claims, virtuous within the corruption of his era. Driven by the need for affection and reverence, Pompey's deeds are often shaped by others' expectations of him. His devotion to his wife, though seemingly noble, becomes yet another thread of irritation woven through his tale.

Porthinus

The astute chamberlain of Egypt's young king, Porthinus wielded real power from the shadows. He orchestrated Pompey's assassination and conspired to slay both Caesar and Cleopatra in the palace at Alexandria. He proclaimed, "If a man would be righteous, let him depart from a court. Virtue is incompatible with absolute power. He who is ashamed of cruelty must always fear it." His life met its end at Caesar's command.

Ptolemy

Ptolemy, or Lagus, the youthful monarch of Egypt and sibling to Cleopatra, is sometimes perceived as a faint reflection of Nero. The alternate name harks back to his ancestor, the inaugural Macedonian king of Egypt.

Roman Matron

The conclusion of Book I is marked by a triad of war prophecies. The first two predictions are offered by Arruns, an Etruscan observer of sacrificial entrails, and Figulus, an astrologer gazing at the stars. However, the final, most vivid prophecy comes from a Roman matron, possessed by Apollo, god of foresight. Unlike the other seers invited to decipher omens, her words are a divine edict, a poignant choice by Apollo to use a matron—a family matriarch—as his mouthpiece, resonating with a profound historical echo. Her fear for her kin reflects the Sabine women's legendary intervention to halt a conflict between their Roman husbands and Sabine fathers and brothers.

Scaeva

A Roman centurion, once the very embodiment of virtus, now twisted into something darker. Alone, he valiantly fends off the might of Pompey's forces while Caesar marshals reinforcements. In the closing stanzas of the Pharsalia, Caesar glimpses Scaeva—a moment often interpreted as a vision. Yet, Masters argues for the poem’s completeness, albeit with scant revisions, noting that the historical Scaeva survived the legendary embellishments of his injuries at Dyrrachium.

Pompeius Sextus

The younger of Pompey's progeny, gripped by fear, seeks the counsel of the enigmatic Erichtho. Speculation abounds that he serves as a veiled depiction of Nero.

Sulla

The inaugural Roman dictator in the modern context, distinct from the ancient Roman notion of a temporary grant of power in times of crisis. His reign is notorious for its carnage, marked by relentless political purges and massacres.

Previous

Themes

Next

Critical Essays

Loading...