Monday, November 03, 2008
This Day in the History of the Births of Nearly Forgotten Poets
On this day in 39 A.D., Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, know to us as Lucan, was born in Corduba, Spain. He died a forced suicide at age 26 in Rome. He is included in the Roman silver age of poetry and, although more popular than Virgil during the middle ages, is almost not read now at all. Perhaps his best work is a long 'history' of Gaius Julius Caesar's improbable victory at Pharsalus, called, not surprisingly, the Pharsalia, which contains a lot of the plot elements from the first season of Rome.
The wood cut is from the 15th century when Lucan was at his height of popularity in Europe.
Labels: Roman History; Lucan
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 4:44 PM 
