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L\Ic EXPLANATORY NOTES

L\Ic EXPLANATORY NOTES

L\iC s CiJ

EXPLANATORY NOTES

BOOK i

I—7 The subject of the poem is announced.

i worse than civil wars: because and were not only fellow citizens but related to one another by marriage.

4 the pact oftyranny was broken: the so—called First , in which Pompey, Caesar, and Crassus agreed to co-operate politically with each other. The pact, made in óo BC, broke down in the late 5os.

6—7 of standards . . . : the standards (siçna), eagles (aquilae), and javelins (pita) are all distinctively Roman equipment. 8—32 regrets the civil war when might have been conquer ing the rest of the world.

12 wars which would bring no triumphs: a could he earned only by a victory over a foreign enemy.

15—18 l.ucan refers to east, west, south, and north in turn by means of periphrases; ‘Titan’ and ‘the star’ both denote the sun. 20 ’s birth: a topic of fascination to the Romans; Lucan includes a discussion of the subject in book io.

31 Pyrrhus: king of Epirus, who inflicted several major defeats on Rome in the third century BC.

the Carthaginian: i.e. , who waged the Second Pumc War against Rome, 2 18—201 BC.

33—45 Lucan declares that the civil war and other temble events which followed are made worthwhile by . the Carthaginian 39 ‘s shade: i.e. Hannibal’s ghost. amagmed as awaiting revenge for his defeats at the hands of the Romans. Lucan refers to the battle of in 46 BC fought in not far from . 224 Notes to 1. 41—85 Notes to 1. 91—132 225 41 Caesar i.e. Nero. 91 all the constellations: the twelve signs of the , the famine of Penssia: a town in (mod. Perugia) where 95 with a brother’s blood: is said to have killed his brother Remus besieged ’s brother Lucius for several months in 41 in quarrel BC. a about the new city-walls of Rome.

z the strugks of 97 Asylum: Romulus’ original foundarion from which Rome grew: a Mutina: rn 44 BC Mark Antony besieged Decimus Brutus in the city of refuge for slaves and criminals. Mutina; in 43 BC the consuls came to Brutus’ aid and ended the but were killed by Antony in battle nearby. 101 Isthmus: of Corinth, the narrow neck of land which connects the 43 the slave wars: Pompey’s Peloponnese with mainland . son Sextus with his fleet partly manned by slaves was defeated in the Sicilian seas in 36 BC. 105 Carrhae. an important city in the Assyrian empire (mod. 1—larran), 45—66 In a prayer to site of the defeat Nero, Lucan looks forward to his deification and of Crassus by the Parthians in 53 BC. asks him to inspire his poetry. ii8 Sabine women: Romulus and the Roinans carried offthe Sabine women, o the transfrrence of the sun: when his father the sun handed his chariot who reconciled their husbands with their fathers when they were to , disaster followed: the world was set on fire and Phaethon about to enter battle. died. The story is told in , Met. 2. 19-332. 120—57 The causes of the war 2: Lucan introduces his two protagonistS feel the weight 57 for the association of weight with divinity cf. , Pompey and Caesar. Il. . 837—9.

121—2 fresh exploits . . . Gallic conquests: Pompey had celebrated three Ui— 62 warring : the gates ofJanus’ temple in Rome were only closed umphs, over (8z BC), (71 BC), and (62 BC), and in time of peace. had overcome the pirates, who had caused havoc to shipping through 64—5 the god who has out the Mediterranean, offthe coast ofCilicia in 67 BC; more recently, control of Cirrha ‘s secrets: i.e. ; his shrine at is here referred to, Cirrha being a nearby town. had conquered . 66 you are enough: 123 Magnus: the Great’; Roman conventionally asked for divine inspir- Lucan much more often calls Pompey ‘Magnus ation from than ‘Pompeius’: Apollo, Bacchus, and other deities; Lucan here compli- Magnus was a name given him early in his career, ments Nero by treating him as a god. in 8i BC, after victories in and Africa. 67—120 The causes of the war 1: the collapse of all great things such as 124 yourfortune: on Caesar’s special relationship with see lntroduc Rome is fated and inevitable and the could never tion, ii. 5. last long; Crassus’ death, following Julia’s death, removed the last obstacle to war. 129—30 years declining towards old age: in fact, Pompey was only six years older than Caesar. her chariot: a 79 two-horse chariot (bigae), whereas the sun’s was pictured as a four-horse chariot. 130 through long experience of civil l!fe: Pompey’s previous experience of active warfare had been fourteen years earlier, in his victory over 83 Fortune: a central concept and force in the poem: see Introduction, Mithridates of in 63 BC. ii. 5. 132 generous to the crowd: Ponipey staged shows and gaines to entertain 8 made common property of masters three: again the First Triumvirate is the people, for example at the opening of his theatre, , Pomp. referred to, cf. above, I. 4n. 52. 226 Notes tol. 133—199 Notes to 1. 213—267 227 133 the theatre he had built: Pompey built Rome’s first stone theatre in 213 The ruddy : the river is reddish in colour. 55 BC. 217 winter was strengthening it Caesar crossed the Rubicon in January 135 the shadow ofagreat name: 49 Lucan alludes to Pompey’s nickname Magnus (‘The BC. Great’) when he uses the word ‘great’ (magnus). 228—61 Moving swiftly, Caesar takes Ariminum; Lucan presents the inha i its own precincts: the part of the sky from where it came. bitants’ suppressed terror. 158—82 The causes of the war : the luxury brought by Rome’s military 229 Bakaric , the inhabitants of the Balearic (modern Majorca superiority and empire caused a breakdown in law and morality, and Minorca) were famous for their skill with the sling and fought according to Lucan. Cf. , Bell. Cat. to-li. in Roman and Carthaginian armies. 167 the bane of every nation: lit. ‘the because of which every nation 230 Parthian ‘S arrow shot over his shoulder the Parthians were famed not perishes’, i.e. luxury objects. only for their dexterity with the bow, which included shooting on 176 laws and rulings of the plebs: horseback, but in particular for the notorious technically laws (leges) were passed by ‘Parthian thot’, the the entire people including arrow launched while the patricians, whereas ‘decrees of the the Parthian was fleeing. people’ (plebiscita), the normal form of legislation and binding on 231 Ariminum: a city in on the Adriatic coast about 9 south the whole people, were passed by popular assemblies in which no of the Rubicon. From here the via Flaminia Rome. was cast his vote. led to It The legislation mentioned in rr7 introduced by a strategic point for Caesar’s operations in Etruria and Picenum. consuls, not , was a shocking deviation. 183—227 Caesar 238 the impious alarm: i.e. of civil war. sees a Vision ofRome, then crosses the Rubjcon. 245 towering among his troops: probably on horseback. i8 Rubicon: a small river in north Italy flowing into the not far from Ariminum 253 (mod. Rimini). It formed the boundary Latium: here used for ‘Italy’. between one of Caesar’s provinces, namely Gallia Cisalpina, in which 254 movements of : the Senonian crossed the , established he was permitted to move with his army, and Italy, in which he was not. themselves on the Adriatic coast, and in 387/6 BC captured Rome. 255 the Libyan war-god: lit. ‘ of Libya’, meaning Hannibal. Anminum i88 tower-crowned head: in Roman visual art, cities were often represented played an important wearing such . role in the , remaining loyal to Rome. 196 Phrygian house-gods of lulus’ clan: the household gods (penates) brought 260 mid-sea is mute: Lucan probably refers to the so-called Halcyon days, from to Italy by , father of lulus (also called Ascanius) calm days in midwinter when the halcyon was believed to nest: and ancestor ofJulius Caesar. Ovid, Met. II. 741—8. 197 Mysteries ofQuirinus, who was carried offto heaven: was Romu 26F-9$ The arrival at Caesar’s camp ofCurio the former , expelled lus, founder of Rome, who was said to have been deified (Ovid, from Rome by the Senate, strengthens Caesar’s resolve. Fast. 2. 491—512). The Quirinalia were celebrated on 17 February. 198 266 the turbuknt tribunes: the tribunes of the people Quintus Cassius and of Latium, seated in lofty Alba: Jupiter was also worshipped (as Mark Antony, who supported Caesar, were threatened by the consuls luppiter Latiaris) at a temple on the Alban Mount in Latium. Marcellus and Lentulus and forced to flee for their lives. 199 hearths of : the Vestal Virgins tended the sacred fire supposedly 267 violating their rights: the tribunes of the people were sacrosanct, that brought from Troy by Aeneas in the temple of Vesta in Rome. is, it was an offence to lay hands on them. 228 Notes to 1. 276—323 Notes to 1.336—399 229 276 1 extended your command: Curio as thbune vetoed proposals to termi- though this was contrary to law, supposedly to prevent disturbances, nate Caesar’s command in Gaul. but obviously as a form of intim.idation: thus did not dare deliver his defence 283 for twiceJive years: Caesar’s Gaffic command lasted for some ten years. speech. Caesar emphasizes Pompey’s lawlessness here. z86 no long triumphal march: for Caesar’s expectation of a triumph for 336 wandering his victories in Gaul see Bell. Gall, 8. Si. In fact he did not celebrate Cilicians: Caesar refers disparagingly to Ponipey’s victory over such a triumph until 46 BC (, Per. 115). the pirates, whose base was in Ciicia in Asia Minor.

287 the consecrated laurel is not required by the Capitol: the 336—7 Pontic battles . . . by barbaric poison: a disparaging reference to Porn— to the triumphal march was the general’s dedication of his laurel pey’s victory over King Mithridates of Pontus, who is described crown and spoils to Jupiter at the temple on the Capitoline. as ‘war—worn’ because he had been fighting Rome for some forty years and had already suffered defeats at the hands of and Lucul 289, 29Ofather-in-law, son-in-law: through Pompey’s marriage to Caesar’s lus; that the battles are said to be ‘with ditticulty finished ott’ is daughterJulia (above, iii). a further sneer at Pompey, unable (Caesar implies) even to finish 293 the Elean race-horse: Elis was a city—state in the Peloponnese where off a campaign against this war-weary king, except by un-Roman the Olympian Games were held. Lucan refers to the chariot—race, resort to poison. the most prestigious event. 352—91 The centurion Laelius, evidently fictitious, rallies the wavering 296—351 Caesar addresses his soldiers with a rousing speech appealing troops with a rousing speech. to their shared experience of warfare and speaking scornfully and 356—7 the post ojjirst centurion: the primipilus was the savagely of Pompey. centurion in command of the first cohort and thus the senior centurion of the legion. 301 in northernfields: i.e. in Gaul and Britain. 358 oak-leaves: the civic crown, corona ciuica, was awarded to a soldier 313 verbose Marcellus: Lucan evokes all three Marcelli: Gaius who had saved the life of a fellow citizen in battle: Gellius Mar— . 6. ‘I—Is. cellus, consul in 50 BC; Gaius Claudius Marcellus, cQnsul in 49 BC; Marcus Claudius Marcellus, consul in 51 BC. All are recorded as 370 subdued with oar the Ocean’s swlkn opposing Caesar. waves: he alludes to Caesar’s crossing from Gaul to Britain. those empty names, the Catos: the plural is used here as a sign of Caesar’s 371 curbed . . . the foaming : Caesar built a bridge across contempt: the Cato is Marcus Porcius Cato, see Glossary. the river, &ii. Gall. 4. 16—17. 316 his age does not allow it though the minimum age in law for celebrating 381 Etruscan Tiber the River Tiber rises in Etruria (Tuscany). a triumph was 30, Pompey obtained a triumph over King Hiarbas ofNumidia when he was only 25. 392—465 A catalogue of Caesar’s troops as he prepares to march on Rome. The catalogue was a topos of epic. 318 his limitation of grain through all the world: in 57 BC Pompey was put in charge of the corn-supply with virtually absolute powers for five 396 Leman: Lake . - years; some sources suggest that Pompey created a corn-shortage 397 Vosegus: a chain of mountains in north-east , dividing in order to be given such great powers, e.g. Plutarch, Pomp. 49. from Alsace, the modern . 319—23 Who does not know ... Milo the accused?: at the trial in 52 BC of 398 : a people who , accused of murdering the politician Publius Gb lived near modern (north-east France). dius Puicher, Pompey stationed soldiers in and around the , 399 Isara: a nver in Gaul (mod. lsère) which flows into the Rhône. 230 Notes (0 1. 402—424 Notes tol. 425—442 231 402 : a people in the Rouergue (south-west France). : a people of whose chief town is modern Rciins in northern 403 Atax a river (mod. Aude) in (south France). France. 404 Varus, now Hesperia ‘s boundary, the frontier advanced: the Varus (mod. 425 : a people of Gallia Belgica near Besançon, west of the Jura Var) was another river in Gallia Narbonensis. By Lucan’s time, this range. rather than the Rubicon was considered the boundary of Italy (e.g. 426 : one of the Mela2. 72). main peoples of Gaul; their territory was bounded by the , Mastic, Rhine, and . 405 the harbour sacred under the name of : the Portus Herculis Monoeci (mod. Monaco). 427 : modem . Lucan (and, later, Sidonius Apollinans) states that the Arverni claimed brotherhood with the Romans; several 407 , Zephyr, Circius: these wind-names seem problematical: Corus other sources (e.g. Cicero, Ad Au. I. 19. 2, Ad Fani, 7. 10. 4, Caesar, is a north-west wind, Zephyrus the west wind, and Circius north a Bell. Gall. I. 33, , Ann. II. 25) give the same information west wind, the yet context requires Circius to be anything other about the neighbouring . than a north-west wind; Lucan should have named the east or south east winds common in the area. Some suppose Lucan’s Circius to 428 : a people of Gallia Belgica, north of Cambral. be the mistral; most consider him confused here. 429 the treachery of Cotta’s murder Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta, an officer 409 the stretch ofchangin,g shore: probably the Belgian coast. of Caesar in Gaul who was ambushed and killed in the winter of 54/ BC (see Caesar, Bell. 412—16 Because the Mediterranean is virtually tideless, the tides of the 53 GaIl. 5. 26—37). provoked much interest and speculation about their 430 : a people of Germany near modern Worms. cause: cf. Mela 3. 2. 430—I your loose-worn breeches, : 414 the lesser star the moon, hence the mention of ‘lunar a nomad tribe in the 1)anube hours’. region, described by Ovid as wearing flowing trousers, Tri.ct. 5. 10. 416 to drink the waves which fred him: for the idea that the sun was fuelled 34. by the sea cf. 10. 258—9. 431 : a German people whose territory lay between the Maas and 420 the : a German people on the Rhine near Speyer. the mouth of the Rhine (now Holland). the Alyrus: a river (mod. Adour) in south-west France, rising in the 432 Cirta: a river in Gaul (mod, Hérault). Hautes-Pyrénées and flowing through the territory of the Tarbeffi (Landes) into the Atlantic. 433—4 the Rhóne weeps the Arar to the sea: the River Arar (mod. Saônc), known for its sluggishness (Caesar, Bell. I. 12), 422 : a people in Saintonge (south-west France), north of the Gas Gall. flows into the onne. Rhóne at .

423 Biturges: a people in the region of (mod. ). 435 Gebennae: modern Cévennes, a range of mountains in southern Gaul extending north to Lyons. Suessones: (usually ) a people of Gallia Belgica (northern France and ) who lived to the west of the Rhine and gave 44i Treviri: a people through whose territory flowed the River . their name to ; they were noted for their tall stature and From the ancient name is denved modern . the length of their weapons. 442 L(ures: a people of the Maritime Alps called ap illati or comati from 424 : a people of south-eastern Gallia Belgica on the upper Moselle. their long hair. 232 Notes to] 442489 Notes to]. 493 —564 233 442—3 Long-Haired Gaul: Gallia Comata, the last part of Gaul to be con- 493—509 Lucan here adapts the standard description of the captured and quered by Rome, as opposed to the other parts where Roman man- sacked city, a topos in writers of history and epic, to make an ironic ners, including short hair, had been adopted. point: Rome is not (yet) sacked. The paradoxical behaviour of the citizens is conveyed especially succinctly 445—6 Teutares, , : probably the names of three Celtic gods. in 504, ‘flee towards war’. 522—83 Worse to come is 6 the slab: the altar. predicted by the terrible prodigies and portents recounted by Lucan. To list prodigies was another standard descrip of the : the worship of Diana among the Tauri in tive set-piece used by writers in various genres. Cf. , Georg. allegedly involved ; cf. 3. 86 n., 6. 74—5fl. I. 464—88, a passage capped by the prediction of civil war after the assassination of Caesar; Ovid, Met. i. 447 : poets of Gaul. 9—Soó, influenced by Virgil. 534 from northern parts: signifying 450 : the high-priests of the Gauls. Caesar’s approach from the north. 535 the head of Latium: probably 457 in another sphere: evidently a reference to the belief in the meaning Jupiter’s temple on the Capitol in Rome. transmigration and immortality of the soul; see e.g. Caesar, Bell. Gall. 6. 14. 544 Mycenae of : the rulers of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the brothers 459 Arctos: the constellation nearest the Pole Star and so representing Atreus and Thyestes, had a terrible feud which culminated the north. an Atreus’ killing Thyestcs’ Sons and serving them up to him at a feast: the sun is said to have hidden his face in horror (cf Ovid, 463 the curly-haired Cauci: also called , a people of northern Ger- Pont. 4. 6. 47—8). The subject was treated in a play by Lucan’s uncle many on the lower Weser; 13. 64—5 mentions the curly hair Seneca, Thyesres. of Germans. 548 savage dogs: see Glossary s.n. . 466—86 The scene at Rome 1. False rumours about Caesar terrify the people. 549 From Vesta ‘s altar the extinction of the tire on Vesta’s altar was 468 he occupies the nearest towns: after Ariminum, Caesar took Arretium regarded as a terrible , which symbolized the end of the Roman (Arezzo), Pisaurum (Pesaro), Fanum (Fano), Iguvium (Gubbio), and race; cf. Plutarch, Numa 9. 5—6. Auxinium (Osimo): Caesar, Bell. Civ. I. rt—i2. ço the Festival: a festival in honour ofJupiter, celebrated annually Mevania: a town in Umbria (mod. Mevagna) near the River on the Alban Mount, which culminated in a night-time bonfire. (Clituniio) famous for its white cattle. 552 the Theban funeral-pyre: an allusion to the funeral-pyre of 476 Nar. a river of central Italy (mod. Nera) between Umbria and Sabine the Theban brothers Eteocles and Polyneices who killed each other land which flowed into the Tiber near Ocriculum (Otricoli). fighting for power: their bodies were burnt on the same pyre but the flame

481—2 the peoples. . . : i.e. German, the Elbe being a river in Germany. split in two, showing that their hostility lasted after death.

486—522 The scene at Rome 2. The Senate leads the flight from Rome 552—3 the earth sank down its pivot the earth is thought of as centred around in panic. a central axle.

488 the Fathers: the name often given to the senators Larinpatres). 56 Native Gods: the Di , of whom little is known, probably but not certainly local gods. 489 the dreaded declaration of war Caesar (Bell. Civ. I. 5. 3) calls the declara tion of emergency powers against public enemies Senatus consuhum 564 ‘s prophetess: the Sibyl of Cumnae (in the Bay of ) who uhimum. features in Virgil, Aen. 6. 234 Notes to 1.566-595 Notes to I 59O—25 235 566 Galli: self—castrated eunuch priests of . 596 in Gabitw manner, an ancient way of wearing the derived from Gabii, an ancient Latin town of religious importance. cf. Virgil, .4en. 575—6 the weapons offierce Lycurgus: the mythical King Lycurgus slighted 7. 612. Bacchus and was punished by a madness in which he killed his wife and child and cut off his own leg. 598 Troy’s : i.e. the Palladium (an image of Paths Athene Minerva) brought by Aeneas from Troy and ultimately deposited 576—7 on resentful ’s order caused Akides to shudder. on his return from in the temple ofVesta. Cf. 9. 993. the Juno sent a madness (here personified as ) upon Hercules, under the influence of which he killed his wife and 599 keepers of... mystic verses: the College of Fifteen Priests (Quindecinivmri children, a story told in Greek by Euripides and by Seneca were the custodians of the which contained oracles in his play Hercules Furens. in verse.

600 Cybele ... bathed 580 From the Campus the shade of Sulla: Sulia was buried in the Campus in little Airno: once a year a statue of (Zybelc was bathed Martius m Rome: , &ll. Giv. I. ioó. in the , a small river near Rome. The College of Fifteen Priests presided over the cult of Cyhele. 582—3 Marzu.s burst hii tomb . . . waters of the Anio: possibly an al_lUsion to Sulla’s 602 the Seven frsiive a: the banquets: the SLptcsIIvin , the priests treatment of Marius’ remains: he broke open the save then in charge of the Feast ofJupiter. threw Marius’ body into the River Anio: Cicero, Leg. 2. 6, 2. 1. The 9. names of both Marius and Sulla bear the Titian brethren: a college ofpriests at Rome, traditionally associated overtones of civil war, with Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines in Romulus’ time. 584—638 Therefore the decision is taken to consult the Etruscan prophet, 603 the Salians: priests of Mars who kept the sacred shields and whose Arruns, who purifies the city. But the sacrifices go badly and Arruns name came from the ritual dances (Latin salio, ‘I leap’) they pe&irmed prophesies doom to come. during their procession through Rome.

prophets Ibm Etruria: was an Etruscan art; cE Ovid, Met. 604 the : fifteen priests dedicated to particular gods and chosen 15. 558—9. from the noblest Euniies of Rome. They wore a conical cap.

586 Luca: a town in (mod. Lucca). 6o8 holy places: a place where lightning had struck was considered sacred and called a bidental, so named from the sacritice of animals (hidentes) 587—8 For a description of the different types of divination see the entry there. in the Oxfrrd Classical Dictionary, 2nd cdii. (1970), 356—7. 6io salted grains: the ground barley mixed with salt thrown on the victims 590—I accursedflames: kindled by ill-omened types ofwood. at sacrifices.

591 progeny of barren womb: possibly the offspring of a mule or more gener— 611 The victim long resisted: it was considered a sign of the gods’ anger ally births by parthenogenesis (virgin birth). (hence ‘displeasing’) for the victim to struggle.

593 chiefpriests: the pontfices and other priests. 621 in its hostile haif for purposes of divination, the two parts of the liver were labelled for friends and for enemies. The ‘hostile halt’ ceremony: 594 a ceremony of ritual purification (lustrum). here is thus associated with Caesar.

595 : the empty space outside Rome’s walls, part of the city’s 625 the caul betrays its hidden things: the meiiibraiie which normally hides religious boundary. the intestines was open. 236 Notes to 1. 628—685 Notes to 1. 686—2 36 237 second head: a serious omen portending the increase of Caesar’s 628 a 686—8 over seas ... Emathia ‘s battle-lines: the battle passed from Thessaly prosperity at Pompey’s expense. (= Emathia) to North Africa: the mention of the Syrtes and Libya foreshadows Cato’s march through the 636 Tages: an Etruscan said to have sprung from the earth and taught deserts of Libya in book 9. Cato’s forces were defeated at the battle the Etruscans how to foretell the future. ofThapsus in 46 BC. 687 : a goddess ofwar. 639—72 The Roman philosopher and astrologer Figulus foresees from

689-90 over ... Mars’ prominence and the entire configuration of the sky terrible Alps and ... : reference to the warfare in Spain civil war. Housman points out in his Astronomical Appendix between ’s sons, who were defeated by Caesar (pp. 325—7) that on virtually every count Lucan’s astronomy here at the battle ofMunda in 45 BC. is wrong. 691 impious war waged in the Senate’s midst: a reference to the assassination 639 Figulus: Publius , a contemporary of Cicero who of Caesar by Brutus, Cassius, and others outside the Senate-House was a Pythagorean philosopher and famed astrologer. in 44 BC. 692 The factions 640 Egyptian Memphis: in Roman times, the Egyptians were especially rise again: in place of Pompey and Caesar, l3rutus and Cassius renowned for their skill in and divination. against Antony and Augustus, and subsequently Augustus against Antony. 653 rains rivalling Deucalion ‘s: Deucalion and his wife were the only humans 694 already have I seen to survive the Flood sent by the gods to punish mankind’s wickedness. : Lucan (here and at 7. 854ff. and 9. 270) along with other authors At , Aratea 562 Deucalion is used to denote Aquarius, (Manijius I. 908—13, Ovid, Met. 55. 824, and later Florus 2. 13. the water—carrier: so it seems that Lucan is making a recherché allusion 43, Juvenal 8. 242—3) follows Virgil (Georg. I. 489—90) in linking here. the battles of and Pbilippi, which were both (at the time when Virgil was writing) in the Roman 656 the fierce Nemean Lion: the constellation of Leo, identified with the province of . This is no geographical error, but a tribute lion in the Nemean forest (in Greece) killed by Hercules. to VirgiL

659 Gradivus: one of Mars’ titles. BOOK 2 673—95 A Roman matron in a prophetic frenzy foretells the main events 1—15 A wis of the civil war. This episode is designed to recall, and contrast with, for ignorance of the future. Virgil’s description of Amata’s feigned Bacchic frenzy at Aen. 7. 373— 56-233 The pèople’s reaction to the portents and prophecies is described, 405. One old recalls at length the cjvtl wars between Marius and Sulla. 675 Lyaeus of Ogygia: Bacchus was called Lyaeus (Greek = ‘the loosener’, a reference to the effect of wine); Ogygian = Theban, referring 17 put a dismal end to buçss: ip4mes of emergency the Senate declared to Bacchus’ birth from Semele, daughter of Cadmus, king ofThebes. a cessation of judiciald all public business (iustitium). Cf. 5. 32, 116. 678 0 : one of the names ofPhoebus Apollo, literally ‘healer’. 59 purple robe: onçóf the marks of h’igi office. 682 war without an enemy: i.e. a foreign enemy. 36 who woW bring reproach: because the nothers’ prayers would not 685 him: i.e. Pompey, whose death and decapitation is descnbed in book be)ufswered and so the gods would be seèsQo ignore a suppliant’s 8. j*ayer. 280 Notes to 6.368—412 Notes to 6. 413—477

368 Amphrysus: on the banks of this river Apollo served K,ñg Admetus 413—506 Both sides pitch camp and await battle. Pompey’s son Sextus \ as a shepherd. goes to consult Thessalian witches about the outcome: their powers are described. Thessaly was a classic locale for 36\Anaurus: a Greek name meaning ‘without air’. witches, and these are classic witches: this is another Lucanian tour deforce. Roman writers 380 fçrror for the gods: the gods were afraid to break an oath sworn on of all periods show an interest in the supernatural; this is particularly th waters of the , cf. 749. / evident in Neronian writers. 385 Magetes: inhabitants ofthe eastern part ofT ssaly. 420 Sextus: younger son ofPompey by his wife Mucia. 421—2 After he was outlawed Minyans: they lived round lolcos in The y; most of the Argonauts in 43 BC Sextus occupied Sicily and used were Mmyans. it as a base for blockading Italy: his plundering of supplies to Rome earned him the name of pirate. His father’s triumphs at sea were 386—7 Pelethronia,caves: part of Mount Pe; n. over the pirates.

387 , Ixion:don wished to m4è love to Juno and was deceived 425 Delos’ tripods: Delos was evidently an oracle—centre early in the archaic by Jupiter with a\cloud: the unioy’of Ixion and the cloud produced period, cf. Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo 13 1—2. the Centaurs. 426 Dodona: the oracle of /Jupiter in Epirus, said to use one or 388—94 Individual centau are m tioned, cf. Ovid, Met. 12. 210—535, more cauldrons in prophecy. the battle of the Lapithsqid,e Centaurs. 427 earliestfruits: i.e. acorns, from I)odona’s oak—trees. 391 Pholus: entertained Herculeon his travels. z the okhian stranger . Cf. Ovid, Met. 7. 222—3 I for a description ofMedea 391—2 i.e. Nessus, who tried t/rapDeianeira while conveying her across in Thessaly. the river Evenus but kiflei by Hercules with an arrow tipped 450 Babylon of Perseus: , son of Perseus and Andromeda, ancestor with the poison of theLernaean Hydra. of the Persian dynasty, ruled in Babylon. 393 Chiron: i.e. the const ation Sagittan which appears in winter. 455—6 the promise ... : i.e. hippomanes, said to be a swelling growth on the head of a new-born foal: if it was bitten 394 greater : Scoi$io takes up more space than any other off and eaten by constel its mother, lation ofthe zodi,. she would rear the foal: Pliny, Nat. Hist. 8. i6. - was used in magic and witchcraft, cf. Virgil, Aen. 4. 515—16. 396 struck by the trideAt ofthe sea: in the contest tween (Minerva) 458—91 A list of impossible things (adynata) achieved and fr4eptune) to name by the witches now , Poseidon struck the rocks follows. and produce,t a horse. This contest was variouy situated in Attica and 460 (as her7 in Thessaly. For the power of the ‘twisted thread’ cf. Virgil, Eel. 8, 73—9. 400 from Pagas can shore: the Argonauts sailed from Pagaae near lolcus 474 Nik does not rise in summer as it normally did, cf. 10. 228—3 7. on the B/of Volos, cE 3. 193—7 for the Argo’s departii 475 Maeander a river in Asia Minor with a winding path, from which 402 lonos: a1 ancient king of Thessaly. is derived the word ‘’. 475—6 Rhdne, Arar the characteristics 410-12 Te Aloadac, Otus and Ephialtes, sons of Poseidon and’Aeus’ of these two nvers in Gaul are reversed, cf. I. wif? were of enormous size and piled up mountains to clim to 433—4. he/yen: Homer, Od. II. 305—20. 477 : so high it towered above the clouds, cf. 2. 271. 282 Notes to 6. 488—589 Notes to 6. ô17—ô57 283 488—90 Cf. Virgil, Ed. 8. 75. to life to prophesy; the optimistic prophecy of the fliture is replaced by a pessimistic view of Rome’s 498 one particular deity: usually regarded as Demiurgus, creator of all other past. gods (cf. 745n,). 617—18 In these lines Erichtho alludes to various magic skills, e.g. geo mancy, aeromancy, necromancy, hydromancy. 499—506 A commonly occurring idea in classical texts is that witches could render the moon’s light dull and draw it down from the sky 617 : here = the Underworld, see 696n. (cf Virgil, Ed. 8. 69, Seneca, Med. 787—92) and that the moon then 619 such abundance offresh death: it is shed poisonous foam on plants which the witches used in magic. traditional to criticize Lucan for not noticing that no fighting has yet taken place in Thessaly; cf. 507—69 Lucan describes Erichtho, the most foul and extreme of the Thes 626n. salian witches. He caps his set piece on witches in general with 624—41 The necromancy 2. a (our de force of gruesomeness and hideousness. Erichtho selects a suitable corpse. 6a6 corpses of the slain: the origin of these corpses is not clear S’s 4fr = the fact that she is living. as there has been no fighting yet in Thessaly. 534—5 the torch held by the parents: it was the parents’ duty to set alight 635 without the funeral pyre of their own children. a wound: its lung must be undamaged so the corpse can be made to speak. 538 preserved in stone: in a stone sarcophagus. Cf. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 2. 211, 636 Stygian 36. 131. : here = the Underworld. Lake Avernuc near the Bay of Naples was the entrance to the Underworld which Aeneas .s the pallid nails: lit. ‘growths’; the nails continue to grow after death. used in Virgil, Aen. 6.

545 the crosses: where slaves were executed. 638 a hook: Lucan adapts to his necromancy scene the Roman practice of dragging the bodies of executed criminals with 570—88 goes to Erichtho in the middle of the night and a hook. finds her casting spells to keep the war in Thessaly, to provide her 642—56 The necromancy 3. I)escription ofthe dreadful setting tbr the necro with corpses. mancy and ofErichtho’s preparation for the rite. 589—623 The necromancy 1. Sextus Pompey asks Erichtho to reveal to him 6 the yew: the yew is often associated with death and the Underworld, the outcome of the war and Erichrho replies, agreeing to do so. e.g. Ovid, Met. 4. 432. The following scene of necromancy (prophecy by a corpse) is prob 654 of many hues: the inverse to ably the most horrific of all descriptions of necromancy in ancient the pure white robes of holy sacrifice is in other texts black robes writers. He takes the ‘standard’ features and elaborates them, taking (e.g. Seneca, Oed. 55J—3); the multi coloured robes here seem niany of them to extremes. There are a number of literary debts to be an alternative inversion, possibly inspired by the multi-coloured and influences here, including Ovid’s description of the Underworld robes evidently worn by Funes in dramatic performances. (Met. 4. 432 fE), Seneca’s necromancy scene in (530—658: For multi—coloured threads! matenal in magic, cf. Virgil, Ed. 8. Ciris37i—2, similar setting, preparations, etc.) and portrayals of witches, such as 73—4, 77, , Satyr. i31. Medea in Ovid (Met. 7). But above all, the scene should be read 656 wreaths of vipers: with snakes for hair, she resembles the with Aeneas’ consultation of the Sibyl in Aen. 6 in mind throughout. or the Furies. Lucan has inverted a number of the features of Virgil’s account, 657—66 The necromancy thus conveying his horror of civil war, e.g. hero Aeneas is replaced 4. She reassures Sextus Pompey and his com panions. by worthless Sextus and dignified Sibyl by foul Erichtho; instead of the living visiting the Underworld, a dead man is brought back 657 the youth: Sextus Pompey. 284 Notes to 6. 660—695 Notes to 6. 696—745 285 66o l!fe in genuine form: so that the corpse will not appear as a ghost. 696 Chaos: variously conceived as the abyss from which all things arose but as a real man brought to life again. and as one of the gods of darkness; in the latter sense here, as at Virgil, Aen. 510. 662—3 river-bank which sounds with fires: the rivers of the Underworld 4. include among others the Styx and Pblegethon (or Pyriphiegethon), 697 the ruler of the earth: i.e. ; in the division of the world, Jupiter a river of fire. received Heaven, the Sea, and Pluto the Underworld. 665 the with their hands bound back: like the their brothers, tormented: Pluto is tormented either because the gods do not die the Giants were confined in after their battle with the gods. and therefore do not enter his realm as his subjects or because he wishes to 667—84 The necromancy 5. Erichtho’s nugic brew is applied to the corpse. die and regrets that he is immortal. For other descriptions of a witch’s brew cf. Medea in Ovid, Me:. 700 the lowest form of our : Hecate had three manifestations: as the 262—78 and Seneca, 7. Med. 675—736; Lucan’s goes beyond these. moon in the sky, as Diana on earth, and as Hecate in the Underworld, 669 lunar poison: for the magical foam shed by the moon see 499—506n. cf. Ovid, Met. 7. 194 ‘three—formed Hecate’. She is called ‘our’ here because ofher association with witches. 672 entrails of the lynx: cf. the belief that the urine of lynxes changes into stones (Ovid, Met. 15. 413—15). 704 ferryman: Charon.

hump of dire hyena: the hump was formed by the union of neck 715 : another name for the god of the Underworld. and spine (Pliny, Nat. His:. 8. io). 716 will join the dead once only: she specifies that it is a recent corpse 673 snake-fed stag: for the enmity of stags and snakes, cf. Pliny, Nat. Hist. whose soul has hardly entered the Underworld; hence it will join 8. ii8. the dead only once because it has not yet joined them.

674 remora: in Greek, echeneis, literally ‘ship—holder’, the sucking-fish 719—49 The necromancy 7. On the soul’s refusal to enter the body, Erichtho believed to delay ships. utters terrible threats to the powers of the Underworld: to the Furies; Hecate; ; Pluto; the unnamed deity (see 745 n.). 676 stones which sound: Lucan refers to the eagle-stone, supposedly found in the nests of eagles: Pliny, Nat. Hist. 10. 12,36. 149. 733 Stygian she-dogs: she will not call them by their customary names, the Eumenides or , but by the titles used in incantations, 677 the Arabs ‘flying serpent: identity unknown to us. Housmais lists other ‘Stygian she-dogs’. ancient references to this creature. 736 Hecate: see 700n. 677—8 the viper born in the Red Sea: reference unknown to us. 739 Henna: a town in Sicily; from a nearby meadow Persephone was 679 horned snake ofLibya: the Cerastes; cf. 9. 716. abducted by Pluto. 680 ashes of the : it rose again from its own ashes: see 739—41 feast, bond, pollution: the ‘feast’ is the pomegranate seeds, which 2. Tacitus, Ann. 6. 15. 73, 28, Ovid, Met. 392—407. doomed Persephone to spend half her time in the Underworld. The 685—718 The necromancy 6. Lucan describes Erichtho’s voice: after the cata reference of the ‘bond’ and the ‘pollution’ is unknown. logue of magical substances, a catalogue ofweird noises. Then Erich 742—3 lowest ruler of the world: Pluto’s realm was the lowest of the three tho invokes the powers of the Underworld to release the corpse’s (see 697n.). soul to her. Cf Medea’s invocation, Seneca, Med. 740—51. 745 Him: as at , Theb. 4. 515—17, the necromancer threatens the 695 the : avenging goddesses, cf. Statius, Theb. 5. 60. powers of the Underworld with the invocation of a supreme deity z86 Notes to 6. 749—796 Notes toö. 805—7.18 287 who is not named. Various identifications have been suggested, e.g. 8o—6 the glory ofa short 4fe: i.e. Caesar’s short—lived rule. 1)emiurgus or Creator, and from the Graeco-Egyptian magic papyri , Osiris, and / Seti. 809 the gods of Rome: a reference to deified emperors, of whom Julius Caesar was the first. 749 who ...can falsely swear i.e. without punishment, unlike the other gods. Cf. Virgil, Aen. 6. 323—4. 813—14 Evidently Lucan planned an episode in a later book which either was 750—76 The necromancy 8. In response to these threats the corpse comes not written or does not survive in which the ghost of Pompey appeared to life and Erichtho addresses him, promising never to call him up to his son, as did to Aeneas in the . again, 817—18 Lucan says that Pompey and his sons will die in lands over which 759 already dying: the corpse is returning to life by reversing the stages Pompey had triumphed. Pompey in , (;naeus in Spain, of dying. and Sextus in (Asia). Pompey’s triumphs were awarded for victories over Numjdia, Spain, and Asia. Thus Libya here 77 stands tripods: i.e. oracles: tripods were part of the apparatus ofprophecy. for Africa. 776—820 The necromancy 9. The corpse reports the sadness of the Roman 820—30 The necromancy 10. Erichtho bums the corpse and Sextus returns shades at the civil war, the joy of the shades of those Romans who to camp. were prepared to attack their fellow countrymen, and hints that Pompey and his sons will die soon. This passage is evidently designed as an inversion of the parade of future Roman heroes shown to BOOK 7 Aeneas in the Underworld by his father Anchises, Virgil, Aen. 6. i!44 Pompey’s 756—885. Some of the plurals in these lines are generic, i.e. ‘Cunus dream on the night before the battle of Pharsalia is and his sort’. deçibed. Lucan will balance this with Caesar’s dret4i after the battle towats the end of the book (‘776—86). / 777 siLent river-bank: of in the Underworld. 3 The annts thought that the sun itself mo/cd from west to east 787 Sulla ... Fortune: Fortune was Sulla’s guardian (hence god he took and that ik apparent daily movement fron east to west was caused the name Felix, cf. 2. 221) and Sulla’s faction was to be worsted by the motIn of the sky. Lucan sugges that on the day of the in the civil war. battle the sun\çied to travel faster tln usual eastwards to avoid rising. 788 Scipio: cf. 3 06—13 n. / 790 Cato: Marcus Porcius Cato the censor, 234—149 BC, who demanded 9 his own theatre: Pomy built the pint stone theatre at Rome (near the destruction of Carthage. His great-grandson was the Cato of the Campus Martius) in\55 BC. the civil war. / U tiers: lit. ‘wedges’ ofseats ik,&eatre, 795 those radical names: the Latin word populaTis combines the meanings 14 his first triumph: Pompey’s fstimph was over of ‘favourites with the masses’ and ‘pursuing a political programme Nurnidia in 79 BC, his second triumph over,pain ix\

17—18 plain toga ... the 4ariot: the plain 796 the Drusi: a reference to Marcus Livius Drusus, tnbune in 122 BC, kire toga worn by Roman citizens after the age of puberty, and his son of the same name, tribune in 91 BC, who took up some here ctrasted with the purple ofthe measures of the Gracchi. toga (toga picta) wçrr by the triumphing geral as he processes in his triumphal chot. 288 Notes to 7. 19—150 Notes to ‘. 151—235 289 19 a Roman knight: Pompey was designated consul for 70 BC wlle still 151—213 The portents and signs of the day are described. This is a set-piece a knight, not having passed through the regular career-structure. by Lucan, used to heighten tension. Cf. 1. 522—83 with n. Frir the her prayers for you: for Rome’s prayers for Pompey’s recç.1ery from portents before Pharsalia, cf, Florus 2. 13. 45; Appian, &ll/ Civ. 2. illness in 50 BC realized cf. Juvenal 10. 283—6, Cicero, Tusc. Disp. \ 68. In Valerius Maximus (i. 6. 12) the portents occur duriniPonipey’s l\86. Plutarch, Pomp. 57. march to Thessaly.

.a the Thunderer i.e. Jupiter Capitolinus: Lucan appea’s to envisage the 164 i.. thereafter they became Caesar’s private property. celel?ration of Caesar’s victory in a triumph or thaksgiving. 176 Boebc: a lake in Thessaly at the foot of Mount Oss, 45—85 At sunrise Pompey’s troops demand battle/and Cicero addresses 192—6 For this story of the , Gaius Cornehu see Plutarch, Caes. Pompey on their behalf, urging him to fight/immediately. This epi sode 47 and lhus 15. 18, is uhhistorical, as we know (e.g. Plutrch, Cic. 39) that Cicero was not present at Pharsalia; however, h is useful for Lucan as a 193 the Euganeati hill: near Patavium (mod. PadEa). representative of both troops and Senie. Neither Cicero’s advice Aponus: a hopring with medicinal quSies (mod. Abano Terme). nor his motive does him or the Repubièan cause any credit. 194 Antenor’s Timavua river going to th7Adnatic, not tar from Pataviurn; 64 Axes: symbols of’uthority of the c7sul, cf. 2. 548 n Antenor was the fnder of Patavsi4m, cf Virgil, Aen. 1, 242—4. 79 our bidden leader cf. 5. 46—7. 19$ Thefinal day has come:\en fro,t Virgil, Aen. 2. 324. 8—io Pompey replies. Against hbetterjudgement, compelled by the 214—34 Pompey’s battle fortior is described. Cf. Caesar, Bell. Civ. pressure, he gives the signal fØr battle. The episode in general shows 3. 88, Plutarch, Pomp. 69, Ajpan. Bell. Civ. 2. 76. Pompey’s weakness (he kn,ws it is better to wait but his craving for popularity causes him o give way) and his speech in particular zi8 i..entulus: this is not necesily\ccurate: according to Appian, Lentulus shows his pessimism and ck, of confidence. was in charge of the riit wing\ 92 was imposed: i.e. had it rced oh him rather than choosing it himself. 219 Domirius: Lucius Do4itius Aheno’h.rbus: see above, 2. 478. 92—3 cost you no wound/ i.e. could have been brought to a successful 227 retrarchs: the nan/given to certain nor rulers in eastern kingdoms, conclusion by diffdent tactics, such as attrition. originally a nIe given to one of four’ilers. 119 victory is no more7ekome: i.e. than defeat. 228 the purple: =,/oyalty. 133 what Rome w111116e: a free state or a monarchy. 230 Cydonians,/Cydonia was one of Crete’s chief 139—43 Descript$n of men preparing for battle is a set feature of epic, Ituraean/arrows: the lturaei were a people f northern Palestine cf. Virgil,/4en. 7. 624—40, where the Latinann themselves. espec/ally skilled in archery and horsemanship, ct.213ff. 140—I every 4nce is straightened on the rock: these”re reusable weapons, 231 fierc/ Gauls: probably the who went ocr to Pompey’s retrieved from battle and straightened before repeat use. áe. Caesar, Bell. Civ. 3. 59—61. 146 upo$ Sicilian anvils: i.e. in the forge of and under 23%/put an end to all his triumphs: by removing all peoples whonihe could Mount Etna (cf. 150). / defeat. io Iallenaean: Pallenc was the later name of Phiegra, in’Chalcidice in 235—336 Caesar sees Pompey’s army ready for battle and is delighted. / Macedonia, northern Greece. He delivers a rousing speech to his soldiers and inspires them to 290 Notes to 7.254—368 Notes to 7.385—438 291 immediate action. The presentation of two balancing speeches of 385—459 Lucan reflects on the devastating effect of the battle on his own opposing generals was a traditional feature in battle-narratives; Lucan times. This is a method ofheightening the tension prior to his descrip uses it here to contrast the characters of Caesar and Pompey. Caesar tion ofthe battle itself. appeals to his soldiers’ self-interest, whereas Pompey moves from patriotism to his own situation. 392 Gabii, Veil, Cora: Veii was a town in Etruria, Gabii and Cora towns in Latium. Gabii was a by-word for a ghost-town, cf , Ep. 254 you promised me: cf. I. 386—8. 1. ii. For Veii cf. 7. on . 28, 4. 10. 27—30. 266 ordinary 4fè: lit. ‘private life’, as opposed to holding military and/or Laurentum: an political office. 394 ancient town in Latiurn. 396 the decree of 267 in plebeian garb: ‘plebeian’ is here used in the loose, not the technical, Numa: the reference is to the celebration of the latin sense. Festival’ (frriae Latinae) at Alba Longa by night. For Nuina see Gloss- aiy. 279 chariot in the triumphal procession. 402—3 worked by chained labourer a reference to the large estates (latilirndia) 285 those they know the more: i.e. Pompey, because of his conquests in on which large teams of slaves worked. the east. 407 civil war cannot now be waged: because there arc hot 306 Saepta: the voting enclosure on the Campus Martius. enough citizens left to wage a civil war. battles in the closed-in C’ampus: cf. 2. 197; a reference to Sulla’s butchery ofprisoners there. 408 Allia: a river about it miles from Rome, the site of a battle when the was annihilated by the Gauls under Brennus in 307 a general of Sulla: Pompey, who first came to prominence fighting 387/6 BC. The day of this defeat, i8 July, was an ‘unlucky’ day for Sulla, cf. I. 326, ‘Sulla’s pupil’, in the Calendar.

315—17 A reference to the battle at 6. 263—313. 422 twin poles: probably the furthest east and west, referring to the rising 323—5 i.e. ‘Kill those who confront you whether they are your kinsmen and setting ofthe sun, cf. Seneca, Ben. 3.33. 3. or not and your act will count as a crime and hence to your credit with me.’ the wandering stars: i.e. the planets (see 1). A. Kidd, ‘Lucan VII. 4.23— 425’, , 4th ser., 19 (1966) .2—5). 326 Level now the rampart: probably a piece of rhetorical embroidery: it is contradicted 429 the girded consul: a reference to the traditional ceremony of the found- by Caesar, Bell. Civ. 3. 89; Appian, Bell. Civ. 2. 74 confirms it, but he was probably using Lucan as his source. ing of a new colony in which the consul, with his toga tucked up, drove a plough to mark the circuit of the walls. 337—84 Pompey is appalled to realize that the fatal battle has come and delivers a speech to his soldiers, a speech which ends gloomily with 433 Tigris and Rhine: these two rivers are here used to denote the boundar an uninspiring picture of defeat. The soldiers resolve to fight to ies ofthe . the death. 436 Lucan wishes that Rome had never known liberty, because she loses 357 our soldiery is that of old: his army is like that of the early Republic, it with such pain. with nobles and senators serving as soldiers. Cf. 2. 566. 438 from the notorious grove: the first population of Rome was established 368 for our army Caesar is not enough: it appears that Pompey’s troops out- by Romulus in a grove as an asylum for criminals. Ct’. Virgil, Aen. numbered Caesar’s by a factor of two to one. 8. 342. 292 Notes to 7. 447—570 Notes to 7. 575—606 293 447—8 i.e. will he watch and do nothing despite the thunderbolts in his faces: he supposedly hand? 575 told has men to auzi at the faces ofyoung patricians, Florus 2. 50. 450 Minias: a mountain range on the Erythrean peninsula of lonia, 582 the Second Order opposite the island of Chios. the knights; tile senators were tile First Order an the Roman state. 451 Cassius: , one ofCaesar’s murderers, a supporter 586—96 Lucan addresses of Pompey. (Not the Cassius of 2. 266.) llrutus, urging him to wait until Caesar has seized power to kill him. This is a typical intervention by the using 451—2 For the sudden darkness (caused by an eclipse) at Argos see I. apostrophe (direct address) of one of the characters in his poem. 54411. Both here and at 2. 323—5 Brutus is charactenzed as passionate and fiery. It is likely that in the complete poem Brutus would have 457—9 Lucan refers to the practice of deification of dead emperors which reappeared, perhaps in a prediction of the assassination of Caesar. began with Julius Caesar. 587 what a weapon: i.e. the weapon with which to kill Caesar. 460—84 The battle begins. The initial horror of the two sides is broken by Crastinus, one of Caesar’s soldiers, who starts the battle. 592 doomed to die: Brutus committed suicide at the battle of Phulippa us 42 BC. 470 Crastinus: an old soldier of Caesar serving as a volunteer in Caesar’s army, cf. Caesar, Bell. Civ. 91. 3. 593—4 For the idea cf. 2. 562—5. 485—505 At first missiles are thrown, then the armies close and hand-to- 597—616 The death of Domitius. hand fighting takes place. This is included because Domatius was Nero’s ancestor (see introduction, i. 2) and altered to glamourize 5o6—44 Pompey’s divides and he deploys his light-armed troops his death: in fact, Dormtius was killed by cavalry (Caesar, Bell. Cii’. to attack. Caesar uses some cohorts he has kept to the rear to reinforce 3. 99) or by Antony (Cicero, Phil. 2. 71; ct. Postgatc’s observation his front line and turns Pompey’s cavalry back in confusion. This that at 3. 609 ft Lucan changes the achievement of an Atilius to a Massaliote section contains an intervention by the poet (53—43) in which he soldier so that his own maternal ancestors should not expresses two alternative wishes: (x) that only foreign blood be spilt be on Caesar’s : Heidand, p. liii). The implication in 597—8 that at Pharsalia; (2) that no foreign blood ofthe races soon to be incorpor Domitius is a patrician is either wrong (the family did not attain ated into the Roman state be spilt at Pharsalia. patrician status until the early pnncipate: , Nero 1. 2) or flattery of Nero. Lucan includes the fiction ofCaesar’s scornful words 543 these will be the : a reference to the extcnsion of Roman to Doanitius and 1)omitius’ fearless last words: collections of the last citizenship under the . words of the famous were made in antiquity; they were thought to reveal a man’s true character. 545—85 Caesar attacks the centre of Pompey’s army and meets real resis tance here from Romans. After expressing his unwillingness to do 6oo Donmitius: Nero’s ancestor. Cf 2. 478—525n., 2. 478 ii., and Lnrroduc so, Lucan describes the horrors perpetrated by Caesar’s army. tion, i. 2.

568 her blood-stained lash: the image here may be drawn from Virgil, Aen. 604 a second pardon: cf. 2. 511, Suetonius,Jul. 1. 8. 703. 34. 6o6 my successor. Dornitius had been appointed by Pompey and the Senate 569—70 Mars, carried an his chariot, rouses his own against to succeed Caesar the race helped by . to the command in Gaul; cf. Caesar, Bell. Civ. x.6. 302 Notes to 8. 472—552 Notes to 8.553—647 303 472—542 The Egyptian court, At the news of Pompey’s approachPtolemy’s 553—4 ridden .. . to the Capitol: i.e. in triumph. court consider what action to take. Lucan presents oily one speech (by contrast with the true debate in the Roman Sihate), that of 559 illegally: because the right to the throne depended on Pompey. , who urges Pompey’s assassination. Eve one agrees and 560—662 The murder of Pompey. On Pompey’s arrival a small boat is sent as despatched to perform the crime. The question of Porn to carry him to the shore. Pompey enters the boat and is murdered. ey’s fate was a topic debated an the schools o hetoric: Cornelia laments his death. This section contains a whole gamut 7. 2. 6, cf 3. 8. Whereas the speech vocating the murder of emotions: including Pompey’s command to Comeia to stay of ompey is attributed to Theodotus of hios in other sources (Plut ch, Pomp. behind; Cornelia’s wild speech to be with him; Pompey’s dying 7’, Appian, &1l. Civ. . 84), in Lucan it is put into th mouth thoughts; Cornelia’s lamentation. Throughout, Pompey’s thoughts of Pothinus the eunuc , partly for economy in the are ofhis popularity, fame, and reputation and he consciously behaves poem as a whole (in book 10 Pothin urges the murder of Caesar) nobly so as not to damage them, Cornelia again shows herself utterly and patti to shed the most uncomp mentary light on the Egyptian court. devoted to him, reproaching and blaming herself desperate to share his fate. This scene recalls the earlier scene on the beach at Mytilene 477 guardian of Ni : taken to be a r erence to the Niometer, the well (33—108) in which Lucan shows the empathy between husband and at Memphis wh h marked the eight ofthe river’s waters (see wife and in which Cornelia faints and reproaches herselffor Pompey’s ‘7. 1. 48). situation.

478 foolish in its rites: the Egy lans worshipped animal gods, to Roman 566 tides oftwo seas: the two bays on either side of the Casian promontory. scorn. 568—71 Lucan leaves out part of his argument: ‘if the laws of fate 479 Apis: the bull, assoc e with the moon (here ), supposed were not dragging Magnus [he could have escaped because] not to be permitted to ve o for y a fixed period of time. Cf. Pliny, one...’. Nat. Hist. 8. 184 Septimius: he had served centurion under Pompey when Pompey 483 Pothinus: a eun ‘h in ’s ourt. 597 as a cleared the Mediterranean of pirates (Plutarch, Pomp. 78, Caesar, 500 the sister you rejected: although Cl patra was supposed to share the &ll. Civ. . 104), hence ‘with your own sword’ below, 6o8. throne wi her brother he had driv her from power. thejavelin: the distinctively Roman weapon, as I. 7. 502 Referea e to the fact that Egypt did ot fight on Pompey’s side (or 2esar’s). 607 the boy ofPella: the boy-king Ptolemy.

512 mo/cjust cause ofgrievance: i.e. than any other n on. óio what Brutus did: murder Caesar. 5I7/e have cause ofguilt: because Pompey has chosen gypt as a refuge. 627—8 Pompey envisages feeling shame at being dispatched by the Egyp with our prayers: ifnot with troops. tian king and his minions.

542—60 Lucan curses Egypt, with apostrophe first of the gods then of 634 admire: as opposed to grieve at: Pompey equates admiration with Ptolemy. Lucan typically inserts such apostrophes at moments of love (not for the first time). high drama and significance, to heighten the tension. 646—7 Let him pay ... my death first: Copt11a suggests that for Pomnpey 552 while heaven thunders: at is inappropriate for Ptolemy to interfere while to witness her death will be like 4eath to him. She wants to punish heaven is showing its wrath. him with this sight because he seems to welcome death as a release. 304 Notesto8.663—737 Notes to 8. 759—848 305

663—91 Septimius cuts off Pompey’s head and gives it to Achillas who 759 he: Cordus. takes it to Ptolemy, who has it embalmed. The decapitation ofPorn 793—822 Lucan laments Pompey’s grave and lists his achievements which pey by a Roman soldier is shocking and violent but Lucan’s sense should appear on the epitaph. in effect Lucan here delivers a funeral of deepest outrage is saved for his description of the foreign practice oration ofembalmment. (laudatiofunebris) over Pompey. i.e. it is greater vengeance 673 i.e. to decapitate at one stroke. 794—5 for Caesar that Pompey is buried like this, in a tomb too lowly, than that he be not buried at all. 675 the Pharian minion: Achillas. 8oi Bromius: ? Bacchus; the mountains ofNysa were his temtory. 692—711 Lucan contrasts the fate of the dead and that of the 808 fierce Lepidus’ upheavals: see 2. 547n. dead Pompey, in a savage denunciation full of anger. the Alpine war Pompey’s wars with the Alpine tribes when marching 692 soon to perish: Ptolemy died shortly afterwards, in the Alexandrian against Sertorius through the Alps. War against Caesar (Alexandrian War 33). 809 when the consul was recalled: in tct, Metellus was not recalled from 693 impure sister . Lucan refers to the Egyptian practice of brother—sister marriage. his long years fighting Scrtorius, nor was he consul at this time; Lucan represents the situation to Pompey’s credit. 694 the Macedonian: , buried at . 8io chariots: oftriumph. 695 the kings: the . 817 the sequence ofhis : a reference to his three consulships. 697 Mausoleums: here = vast tombs. The name arose from the tomb 823—72 Lucan curses Egypt in a passage which reveals Roman xenophobia; of Mausolus, satrap of in the fourth century BC, which was imagines one of the seven wonders ofthe world. himself retrieving Pompey’s remains personally; envisages the homage to Pompey where he lies; and finally raises the possibility 752—93 The burial of Pompey. Cordus, a follower of Pompey, gives the that Pompey did not die at all. body a makeshift funeral and tomb. Cordus is another invention 824\umae ‘s prophet: the Sibyl. of Lucan: according to Plutarch (Pomp. 80) Pompey was buried by his ex—slave Philippus. Lucan presents Cordus as another example 829 beitz need of winter rains: because there would be no water from of the devotion and loyalty inspired by Pompey. the 1i1e; usually the Nile supplied all the water needed. 717 the Idalian shore of Cinyrean Cyprus: Cinyras was a mythical king of 831 Isis: her teJe stood in the Campus Martius. Cyprus. Edalium was a mountain—city in Cyprus. 832 halfrdivine dogs: ‘ki.ubis, a god. portrayed with a dog’s head on man’s 73 frankincense: it was customary to throw frankincense on the funeral body. pyres of the wealthy. rattles: the sistrum, ustd intle worship of Isis, cf 10. 63. 732 the loyal necks ofRomans: Romans would carry the funeral bier. 833 Osiris: the husbatid of isis; his’bth and resurrection was celebrated their Parent. more usually ‘Father of his Country’ (Paler Patriae). yearly.

735 with weapons cast down: Lucan seems to envisage the troops throwing 835—6 a temple to the savage tyrant: very soon abe his death, Julius Caesar their weapons on to the pyre. was kified, a cult established, and a temple built dry 737 fires: i.e. not fed by incense. 848 excessivefires: i.e. a heat—wave, as at I. 646—7 and 9. 37. 314 Notes to 9. 815—950 Notes to9. 315

8i unlucky Laevus: Laevus means ‘unlucky’, e.g. Horace, Ars 301. 954—5 water swum in love: the Hellespont, swum by Leander of in his love for Hero 8zo Sabaean tw!gs: Saba, a town in Arabia, was renowned fojy(ts incense, of on the other side who gave hun a signal from her tower. here referred to as ‘twigs’, Pliny, Nat. Hist. 12. Cf. [Seneca] Herc. Oer. 376, 793, Virgil, Aen. I. 416. 956 Helle: because it was called the Hellespont after her, after she fell 821 .itae: the people of Sais, a town in the Nile dek. in from the back of the Golden Ram.

836 deJ>a(ng Orion: Orion was stung to death by a scorpion which then 959 Cakhedon: in Asia Minor on the Bosporus, nearly opposite . becath a constellation. 960 Proponis, Euxine: the Sea of , joined to the Euxine (the 837 Salpua:\venomous ant, cf. Pliny, N/ Hist. 29. 92. ) by the narrow Bosporus. 839—89 The snaNkes ofAfrica5. The meivcomplain of their sufferings caused 961 Sigeum ‘s sands: a promontory near Troy. by the snakes Cato attends theAying. 962 Simois’ waters: a river running near Troy. 865 the barriers of the Id: i.e. ti7 gates of the west. Rhoeteum: a place near Troy famous for the tomb of Ajax. 877 for Notus’ blasts: theitWwind was supposed to rise at the equator, which they imagine tlçave crossed. 963 to bards: Homer, above all.

890—937 The snakes of Africa The Psylli, a local people, help them, 965 the wall ofPhoebus: Apollo and Poseidon built the city-wall for Laoine by warding off he snakes at\d sucking out the poison from their don, king ofTroy. wounds. Lucan,4isplays his intert in two further branches oflearning 967 Assaracus: king ofPhrygia, son ofTros, grandfather ofAnchises, here, ethnophy and medicine.\ great- grandfather of Aeneas. 893 the Psylli: s/d to be snake-charmers well as immune from poison, 970 Hesione ‘s rock: here Hesione, daughter of Laomedon, king of Troy, Pliny, 4. Hist. 7. 14. was exposed to the sea-monster and rescued by Hercules. 902 the bird ofJupiter the eagle. Anchises’ marriage-chamber where Anchises and made love; 919 ii3unr Eryx a mountain in Sicily. N Aeneas was born from their union. 938/49 Cato and his men arrive at Leptis. Here enthe part of the 971 the adjudicator judged which of the three goddesses, Juno, / book devoted to Cato, with a respite from troubles. Minerva, and Venus, was the most beautiflil. 950—99 Meanwhile Caesar pursues Pompey but stops at Troy, where 972 the boy: , son of Tros, abducted by Jupiter to be his cup he goes sightseeing, visiting places mentioned in the story of the bearer. (in Homer’s especially). This episode takes us back in nine, to events contemporary with the opening of book 8. This 973 : a , loved by Paris. Because he deserted her for Helen, sightseeing tour describes places with which Lucan and his readers she refused to cure his battle-wound, until it was too late. Finding may have been familiar; in any case the combination ofantiquarianism him dead she was stricken by griefand killed herself: and travel—writing reflects Roman intellectual interests. This passage Xanthus: a river near Troy. includes the famous apostrophe to Caesar promising him immortality 975 through Lucan’s poem, which some scholars use as evidence for 979 Hercean altars: when Zeus (= Jupiter) was regarded as the god of the tide Pharsalia. the house he was called Zeus Herceus. 316 Notes to 9. 984—10.34 Notes to 10. 40—107 317

984 the Smyrnaean : Homer, whose birth-place was said to be Smyma \40 drunk Nile from his source: Lucan apparently envisages Aleander cir on the west coast of Asia Minor. \ cumnavigating the world to find the source of the Nile. The source of the Nile was unknown in Alexander’s day and in Lucan’s—and 991 my Aeneas: Julius Caesar claimed descent from Aeneas through lulus, \ \a matter of great interest in both. Aeneas’ son. 48 th\pikes: weapons used by Macedonsan troops, here contrasted with 992 Lwiuian abodes: was founded by Aeneas. the’jveins, the characteristic Roman weaponj (cf 1. 7). 993 the Phrysianfire: the flame brought by Aeneas from Troy to Italy. i the m>r of the Arsa.cids: i.e. Alexander. Arsaces, the tint king of 993 Pallas: the image of the goddess Pallas, known as the Palladium, enib the Parikians (mid-third century BC), fpunded the dynasty called 1cm of the safety ofTroy, in the temple ofVesta. the Arsaci4 Of course, in Alexander’s time, there were no Arsacids; however, Lcan means here that although Rome rules a vast empire 1000—34 Caesar travels on to Egypt. On his arrival a soldier of Ptolemy to the north, est, and south, in the east Rome will always be infirmor meets him with the head of Pompey. in her achieverients to Alexander’s achievements in that region. 1005 theflames of Pharos: the light-house at Alexandria. 52 Pdlla: the capital ty of Macedom, mentioned here to create a con 1035—108 Caesar weeps feigned tears over Pompey, reproaches Pompey’s trast with Rome: ‘in the east, he nation which defeated Rome (in murderers and tells them to appease his shade. This passage includes the persons of the (ssi) was mere province of Pella. an apostrophe by Lucan to Caesar condemning his hypocrisy. 53—106 First Ptolemy then\Cle?patra approach Caesar. Cleopatra appeals 1067 w grant survival to the conquered: an element of Caesar’s policy was to Caesar to rid the co of Pothinus. Caesar is won over by her. to spare his enemies when they fell into his hands (dementia). The passage includes an ‘motionai tirade against Cleopatra by L.ucan.

1100 ask. . your slaying alive: ask you to go on living. 57 the chains ofPharos: ch acro\ the mouth of the harbour.

8 Emathian: here = Macedonian, d so Alexandnan. BOOK io 6o the Spartan womag{ Helen, wife ofIenelaus king of Sparta, abducted 1—19 Casar visits the tomb ofAlexander the Great ja Alexandria. by the Trojan 9aris, and so the caIe of the Trojan War between the Trojans al the Greeks (also caNed the Argives) who were led 8 i.e. if Cae’s also were assassinated in Egypt, this might be thought by Menelaus’/brother , kg of Argos. to make up f*\Pompey’s murder. Cf. 3$é—9 for the same idea. 63 rattle:cf.8.2n. 9 Paraeronian city: Alndria. 75 Venus: sy.2. 387n. 20—52 Lucan’s outburst aanst Alexander. He invites us to link him with Caesar. 7’7 brother, Cleopatra and Caesar had one son, CIçsarion.

20 the crazy offipnng: Aleander the Great. 8x He wends his time acting to secure Cleopatzs kingdom for her inad of pursuing Cato and the Pompcians. \ 29 Athens conquered by hisfather Philip conquered Athens at the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. 98 t e minion: Pothinus (cf. 8. 483n.).

34 thunderbolt tiote that Julius Caesar is compazed with a thunderbolt, I0735 The banquet 1. Lucan describes the luxurious setting of the banquet 1. 151—7. / and the attendants. Map i. The Western Mediterranean in Caesar’s day Map 2. The Eastern Mediterranean in Caesar’s day

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