author
Lucan
39–65
A brilliant Roman poet of the early Empire, remembered above all for the fierce energy of the epic Pharsalia. His life was short, dramatic, and closely tied to the dangerous politics of Nero's court.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Corduba in Roman Spain in AD 39, Lucan—properly Marcus Annaeus Lucanus—was part of a prominent intellectual family and was the nephew of Seneca the Younger. He was educated in Rome and Athens and quickly gained a reputation for extraordinary talent.
He is best known for the Pharsalia (also called Bellum Civile), an epic on the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Unlike many classical epics, it strips away much of the usual divine machinery and gives the story a tense, human, political force that still feels strikingly modern.
Lucan's career rose fast under Emperor Nero, but the relationship later broke down. After being linked to the Pisonian conspiracy, he was forced to die in AD 65, leaving behind a reputation far larger than his brief life.