On Petronius' Bellum Civile Author(s): Georg Luck Reviewed work(s): Source: The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 93, No. 1, Studies in Honor of Henry T. Rowell (Jan., 1972), pp. 133-141 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/292907 . Accessed: 14/03/2012 23:14 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. The Johns Hopkins University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The American Journal of Philology. http://www.jstor.org ON PETRONIUS' BELLUM UIVILE.* Why did Petronius insert the epic fragment dealing with the war between Caesar and Pompey into his novel? Did he want to parody Lucan? Did he merely want to imitate him? Or was it his intention to show how such a subject should have beei treated ? All these views have been held, from J. G. Mossler (184e, to H. Stubbe (1933), as we see from J. P. Sullivan's recent book, The Satyricon of Petronius (London, 1968), pp. 165-86. It is hardly necessary to summarize the various aproaches once more. In my view, the epic fragment represents Petronius' persona) and highly original reaction to the posthumous publication by a brilliant young writer of a probably unfinished epic poem which enjoyed immediate acclaim in Rome.