LAT 245 - Lucan’s Bellum Civile

Course Units: 1

(Not Offered this Academic Year) After a review of the representation of Caesar in Vergil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, we will proceed directly to the Pharsalia (now more commonly called the Bellum Civile), Lucan’s dark epic of the bitter war Julius Caesar waged against Rome in his successful quest to topple republican government, seize power, and establish a personal dictatorship. In addition to the study of the epic genre, its development, and its history, students will scan dactylic hexameter, learn about ancient Rome, review Latin grammar, and write a seminar report based on the evidence that they gather from Lucan’s text. CC: HUL, LCC, HUM