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Ethnographic characterization in Lucan's 'Bellum Civile'

Hodges, Gregory W.Q.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1099344529

Abstract Details

2004, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Greek and Latin.
Lucan’s Bellum Civile is a commentary upon and criticism of the Neronian principate and the deteriorated Roman character of the first century. The poet’s success would be marked initially by imperial censorship, followed by his avowed involvement in the Pisonian conspiracy, the inevitable result of which was Lucan’s death sentence in 65 A.D. In his epic Lucan laments the state of Roman citizenship that has precipitated the fall of the Republic. The true Roman, the hero that would sacrifice all for the state, is absent from the poem. Instead the promotion of the individual, effected by military and political successes among foreign peoples at and beyond the edges of empire, has dismantled simultaneously the ethnic construct of the Roman. To underscore this loss of native Roman identity Lucan employs various non-Roman ethnic models when developing the characters of Caesar, Pompey, and Cato. The stereotypical traits of the European Gaul, the Asiatic despot, and the North African nomad, as generated by such sources as Polybius and Cato the Elder, structure the character of Lucan’s protagonists. They have divested themselves of their Roman aspects and assumed rather those of the peoples among whom they produced their public strength. No longer can this be seen as a legitimate civil war fought between Romans for Rome. Instead these leaders have become as foreigners, each posing a distinct threat to the state. These three men, representative of the poet’s tripartite world view, enact the promised destruction that will leave the empty city of Rome to be rushed and occupied by the foreign enemies that had so long been held at bay. Lucan’s ethnographic characterizations of his heroes are illustrative of his disaffection with a Rome that has been abandoned by its protectors. Even the poet, upon recounting Caesar’s desecration of the temple to Saturn, is unable to return in thought or narrative to the city. Instead he, his audience, his poem, and his characters are condemned to wander far from the security and strength that was once the bounty of Republican Rome.
Erik Gunderson (Advisor)
246 p.
Lucan; Latin Epic; Ethnography; Pompey; Caesar; Cato

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hodges, G. W.Q. (2004). Ethnographic characterization in Lucan's 'Bellum Civile' [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1099344529

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hodges, Gregory. Ethnographic characterization in Lucan's 'Bellum Civile'. 2004. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1099344529.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hodges, Gregory. "Ethnographic characterization in Lucan's 'Bellum Civile'." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1099344529

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.