L\iC s CiJ EXPLANATORY NOTES BOOK i I—7 The subject of the poem is announced. i worse than civil wars: because Pompey and Caesar were not only fellow citizens but related to one another by marriage. 4 the pact oftyranny was broken: the so—called First Triumvirate, 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 . javelins: the standards (siçna), eagles (aquilae), and javelins (pita) are all distinctively Roman equipment. 8—32 Lucan regrets the civil war when Rome might have been conquer ing the rest of the world. 12 wars which would bring no triumphs: a triumph 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 Nile’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. Hannibal, 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 Nero. 39 the Carthaginian ‘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 Thapsus in 46 BC fought in Africa not far from Carthage. 225 224 Notes to 1. 41—85 Notes to 1. 91—132 41 Caesar i.e. Nero. 91 all the constellations: the twelve signs of the zodiac, Remus the famine of Penssia: a town in Italy (mod. Perugia) where Augustus 95 with a brother’s blood: Romulus is said to have killed his brother besieged Mark Antony’s brother Lucius for several months in 41 in a quarrel about the new city-walls of Rome. BC. grew: a 97 Asylum: Romulus’ original foundarion from which Rome z the strugks ofMutina: rn 44 BC Mark Antony besieged Decimus Brutus refuge for slaves and criminals. in the city of Mutina; in 43 BC the consuls came to Brutus’ aid connects the and ended the siege but were killed by Antony in battle nearby. 101 Isthmus: of Corinth, the narrow neck of land which Peloponnese with mainland Greece. 43 the slave wars: Pompey’s 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), site of the defeat of Crassus by the Parthians in 53 BC. 45—66 In a prayer to Nero, Lucan looks forward to his deification and asks him to inspire his poetry. ii8 Sabine women: Romulus and the Roinans carried offthe Sabine women, who reconciled their husbands with their fathers when they were o the transfrrence of the sun: when his father the sun handed his chariot about to enter battle. to Phaethon, disaster followed: the world was set on fire and Phaethon died. The story is told in Ovid, Met. 2. 19-332. 120—57 The causes of the war 2: Lucan introduces his two protagonistS 57 feel the weight for the association of weight with divinity cf. Homer, Pompey and Caesar. Il. 837—9. three Ui— . celebrated 121—2 fresh exploits . Gallic conquests: Pompey had BC), and 62 warring Janus: the gates ofJanus’ temple in Rome were only closed umphs, over Numidia (8z BC), Spain (71 BC), and Asia (62 in time of peace. had overcome the pirates, who had caused havoc to shipping through out the Mediterranean, offthe coast ofCilicia in 67 BC; more recently, 64—5 the god who has control of Cirrha ‘s secrets: i.e. Apollo; his shrine at Julius Caesar had conquered Gaul. Delphi is here referred to, Cirrha being a nearby town. 123 Magnus: the Great’; Lucan much more often calls Pompey ‘Magnus 66 you are enough: Roman poets conventionally asked for divine inspir- than ‘Pompeius’: Magnus was a name given him early in his career, ation from Apollo, Bacchus, and other deities; Lucan here compli- in 8i BC, after victories in Sicily and Africa. ments Nero by treating him as a god. 124 yourfortune: on Caesar’s special relationship with Fortuna see lntroduc 67—120 The causes of the war 1: the collapse of all great things such as tion, ii. Rome is fated and inevitable and the First Triumvirate could never 5. last long; Crassus’ death, following Julia’s death, removed the last 129—30 years declining towards old age: in fact, Pompey was only six years obstacle to war. older than Caesar. 79 her chariot: a two-horse chariot (bigae), whereas the sun’s was pictured 130 through long experience of civil l!fe: Pompey’s previous experience of as a four-horse chariot. 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 Pontus 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, Plutarch, 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 Rubicon: 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 sling, the inhabitants of the Balearic islands (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. Sallust, Bell. Cat. to-li. in Roman and Carthaginian armies. 167 the bane of every nation: lit. ‘the thing 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 Umbria on the Adriatic coast about 9 miles south the whole people, were passed by popular assemblies in which no of the Rubicon. From here the via Flaminia Rome. was patrician 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 tribunes, 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 Adriatic Sea 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 Senones: the Senonian Gauls crossed the Alps, 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. ‘Mars of Libya’, meaning Hannibal. Anminum i88 tower-crowned head: in Roman visual art, cities were often represented played an important wearing such crowns. role in the Second Punic War, 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 Troy to Italy by Aeneas, 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: Quirinus was Romu 26F-9$ The arrival at Caesar’s camp ofCurio the former tribune, 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 Jupiter 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 Vesta: 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. 1.336—399 229 228 Notes to 1.