Pharsalia

work by Lucan

Also known as: “Bellum civile”

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July 2, 2026

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The Pharsalia, also known as the Bellum civile, is an epic poem by the Roman poet Lucan that details the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. The poem focuses on the Battle of Pharsalus, a decisive engagement where Caesar's outnumbered legions defeated Pompey's forces. Lucan, a republican patriot, wrote the epic without divine intervention, emphasizing the human drama and political conflict of the war. The poem is notable for its rhetorical energy and historical insight, reflecting Lucan's republican ideals and his disillusionment with Emperor Nero's tyranny. It covers the conflict up to Caesar's arrival in Egypt after Pompey's murder.1

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Lucan
…civile, better known as the Pharsalia because of its vivid account of that battle, is remarkable as the single major Latin epic poem that eschewed the intervention of the gods.
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…civile, better known as the Pharsalia because of its vivid account of that battle, is remarkable as the single major Latin epic poem that eschewed the intervention of the gods.
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Latin literature
Epic and epyllion
Lucan’s unfinished Pharsalia has a more interesting subject, namely the struggle between Caesar and Pompey, whom he favours. He left out the gods. His brilliant rhetoric comes close to making the poem a success, but it is too strained and monochromatic.
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Lucan’s unfinished Pharsalia has a more interesting subject, namely the struggle between Caesar and Pompey, whom he favours. He left out the gods. His brilliant rhetoric comes close to making the poem a success, but it is too strained and monochromatic.
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epic
The Latin epic
…empire is seen in the Pharsalia of Lucan (39–65 ce). In this historical epic, Cato, Caesar, and Pompey are depicted respectively as moral, warlike, and popular in a way that gives the story a clear trifunctional structure.
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…empire is seen in the Pharsalia of Lucan (39–65 ce). In this historical epic, Cato, Caesar, and Pompey are depicted respectively as moral, warlike, and popular in a way that gives the story a clear trifunctional structure.
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Marcus Porcius Cato
In the Bellum civile by the poet Lucan (1st century ad), Cato is represented as a model of virtue.
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In the Bellum civile by the poet Lucan (1st century ad), Cato is represented as a model of virtue.
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