Lucan
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus arrived in the Roman colony of Corduba on the 3rd of November AD 39. He entered a wealthy family with central Italic origins that traced its lineage back to Seneca the Elder. His father and grandfather held significant standing within the provincial elite. This background provided him access to the finest education available in the Roman world during the first century. Lucan grew up under the direct tutelage of his uncle, Seneca the Younger. The elder statesman guided his nephew through studies in rhetoric at Athens. Seneca also likely provided a philosophical education steeped in Stoic principles. These formative years established the intellectual foundation for his future literary career.
Lucan found rapid success under Emperor Nero during the early years of the reign. He became one of the emperor's close friends despite their age difference. The state rewarded this favor by granting him a quaestorship before he reached the legal age. In AD 60, he won a prize for extemporizing Orpheus and Laudes Neronis at the quinquennial Neronia games. The emperor further honored him when he appointed Lucan to the augurate office. During this period of high favor, he circulated the first three books of his epic poem Pharsalia. Manuscripts label this work De Bello civili as it tells the story of civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey.
At some point, a feud began between Nero and Lucan that would end their friendship. Two very different accounts of the events have survived that both trivialize the conflict. According to Tacitus, Nero became jealous of Lucan and forbade him to publish his poems. Another account from Suetonius claims Nero disrupted a public reading by leaving and calling a meeting of the senate. Lucan responded by writing insulting poems about Nero according to these narratives. Works by the grammarian Vacca and the poet Statius may support the claim that Lucan wrote insulting poems about Nero. Vacca mentions that one of Lucan's works was entitled De Incendio Urbis on the Burning of the City. Statius's ode to Lucan mentions that Lucan described how the unspeakable flames of the criminal tyrant roamed the heights of Remus. This criticism of Nero and the office of the Emperor may have been the true cause of the ban.
Lucan later joined the conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso against Nero in AD 65. The conspiracy was discovered when he was only twenty-five years old. He was obliged at the age of 25 to commit suicide by opening a vein. Before dying, he incriminated his mother Acilia among others in the hopes of a pardon. According to Tacitus as Lucan bled to death he recalled some poetry he had composed in which he told the story of a wounded soldier dying a similar kind of death. He recited the very lines as his last words. Scholars have vainly tried to locate Lucan's last words in his work but no passage in Lucan's extant poem exactly matches Tacitus's description at Annals 15.70.1. An alternative interpretation of events is that his death was not by suicide but was an execution carried out at Nero's command. His father was involved in the proscription but his mother escaped.
Pharsalia or De Bello Civili stands as the surviving major work of Lucan today. It covers the wars between Julius Caesar and Pompey during the Roman civil war. Often attributed to him are other works like Laus Pisonis a panegyric of a member of the Piso family. Lost works include Catachthonion Iliacon from the Trojan cycle Epigrammata Adlocutio ad Pollam Silvae Saturnalia Medea Salticae Fabulae Laudes Neronis Orpheus Prosa oratio in Octavium Sagittam Epistulae ex Campania and De Incendio Urbis on the Roman fire of 64 perhaps accusing Nero of arson. The later books of Pharsalia are anti-Imperial and pro-Republic. This criticism of Nero and the office of the Emperor may have been the true cause of the ban. The epic remains unfinished due to his early death.
According to Vacca and Statius Lucan's works included many titles that no longer survive intact. Surviving work includes only Pharsalia or De Bello Civili on the wars between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Often attributed to him but to others as well is Laus Pisonis a panegyric of a member of the Piso family. Lost works cataloged by ancient sources include Catachthonion Iliacon from the Trojan cycle Epigrammata Adlocutio ad Pollam Silvae Saturnalia Medea Salticae Fabulae Laudes Neronis Orpheus Prosa oratio in Octavium Sagittam Epistulae ex Campania and De Incendio Urbis on the Roman fire of 64 perhaps accusing Nero of arson. The philologist Peter White suggests that stories about Polla Argentaria assisting him could easily be a later invention denigrating the account as sentimental fancy. Sidonius Apollinaris implies that Polla Argentaria Lucan's wife may have assisted him in the creation of the Pharsalia though this story could easily be a later invention.
Lucan is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial Latin period known in particular for his epic Pharsalia. His youth and speed of composition set him apart from other poets. Three brief ancient accounts allow for the reconstruction of a modest biography including the earliest attributed to Suetonius another to an otherwise unknown Vacca and the third anonymous and undated. References appear in Martial Cassius Dio Tacitus Annals and one of Statius Silvae. Scholars have vainly tried to locate Lucan's last words in his work but no passage in Lucan's extant poem exactly matches Tacitus's description at Annals 15.70.1. Critical interpretations range from Frederick M Ahl's introduction to Shadi Bartsch's reading of ideology in Cold Blood. Susanna M Braund edited the Oxford World Classics edition while Elaine Fantham wrote extensively on Book II and Book V. Jamie Masters explored poetry and civil war in Bellum Civile and Ellen O'Gorman examined shifting ground between Lucan and Tacitus regarding landscape. The political mission of Lucan's Bellum Civile remains a central topic for modern academic studies.
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Common questions
When and where was Lucan born?
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus arrived in the Roman colony of Corduba on the 3rd of November AD 39. He entered a wealthy family with central Italic origins that traced its lineage back to Seneca the Elder.
What major work did Lucan write about the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey?
Pharsalia or De Bello Civili stands as the surviving major work of Lucan today. It covers the wars between Julius Caesar and Pompey during the Roman civil war.
Why did Emperor Nero ban Lucan from publishing his poems?
Lucan wrote insulting poems about Nero according to narratives by Tacitus and Suetonius. This criticism of Nero and the office of the Emperor may have been the true cause of the ban.
How did Lucan die at the age of twenty-five years old?
He was obliged at the age of 25 to commit suicide by opening a vein. Before dying, he incriminated his mother Acilia among others in the hopes of a pardon.
Which lost works are attributed to Lucan regarding the Roman fire of 64?
Lost works include De Incendio Urbis on the Burning of the City which perhaps accuses Nero of arson. The philologist Peter White suggests that stories about Polla Argentaria assisting him could easily be a later invention denigrating the account as sentimental fancy.