M. Annaeus Lucanus

Erichtho is the well know witch of Tessaly, whose bloody and magic practices have challenged the readers'comprehension and horrifying them since the posthumous publication of Lucan's epic poem. In this paper, I propose an analysis of some poetics patterns Lucan uses in the construction of this episode, in order to verify in the microcosmos of his hexameters what I dare to call the poetics of terror in Bellum Civile 6.413-830.
Key-words:  Lucan, Erichtho, Epic poetry, Poetic elocution.

Il contributo identifica in Lucano il vir sordidi sermonis cui si riferisce Velio Longo nel discutere la questione del corretto perfetto di absorbo/absorbeo, grazie ad un confronto con due luoghi del De orthographia dello Pseudo-Capro e di Prisciano, che risalgono entrambi al De Latinitate del vero Flavio Capro.

This paper represents a brief evidence about the interaction and the intertextuality between Lucan’s Bellum civile and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In the fifth book of Lucan’s poem, the description of Mt Parnassus and the narration of Delphic myth are influenced and inspired by the episode of Flood and the following birth and death of Python, told in the first book of Metamorphoses.
Lucan alludes to Ovidian poetry, elaborating it with some variations,
in a mythological section that finds in it a direct and evident model.

Nicht nur in neopaganen Kreisen, sondern auch in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur gelten die Kelten als besonders naturverbunden. Diese Affinität manifestiere sich gerade in deren Religion, in der die Verehrung von verschiedenen Naturelementen eine sehr wichtige Rolle einnimmt. Als ein ganz wesentliches Charakteristikum betrachtet man die heiligen Haine, die häufig mit den Kelten im Allgemeinen und ihren Priestern (Druiden) im Speziellen assoziiert werden. Diese Vorstellung ist keineswegs erst modern, sondern bereits in der antiken Literatur begründet, die zahlreiche Belege für die besondere Bedeutung heiliger Haine bei den Kelten liefert. Allerdings sind die erhaltenen Nachrichten von recht unterschiedlichem religionshistorischem Quellenwert, da sie oftmals kein authentisches Bild tatsächlich gelebter Kultpraxis vermitteln, sondern vielmehr literarischer Konvention und antiker Barbarentopik verhaftet sind. Der vorliegende Beitrag präsentiert die relevante literarische Evidenz und analysiert, inwieweit sie sich für eine Religionsgeschichte der Kelten verwerten lässt.

Abstract: The object of the body-representation of epic does not change from Homer to Lucan: it is the human being itself. The preferences and the techniques of representation do however change. Epic poetry is mimesis, just like every poiesis, whose purpose is the representation of the world around us: these techniques can be compared with artistic representations. The technique of literary representation is influenced by the development of the methods of rhetoric, especially by enargeia. The effect of aspects of the fine arts on epic representation cannot in theory be excluded: for this reason, at the end of the period in review, we can speak of the mimesis of
mimesis. This can be found especially in the Metamorphoses of Ovid, then in Lucan. However the number of body-representations decreases in comparison with the preceeding period: it now takes on an exemplum function that is also typical of Roman portrait sculpture.
Keywords: mimesis, enargeia, representation of humans in the epos, body representation in the epos, Homer, Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautics, Virgil, Aeneid, Ovid, Metamorphoses, Lucan, Bellum civile, sculpture, Roman portray sculpture, Roman ancestor cult.

Nella complessa rete di richiami e corrispondenze interne al "Bellum civile" di Lucano il nodo intratestuale che lega i libri V e VIII del poema sembra rivestito di un ulteriore valore rispetto a quello meramente strutturale. Il riproporsi di personaggi e situazioni simili nei due libri merita attenzione in quanto, oltre a confermare la validità della scansione dell’opera in tetradi già proposta da W. Rutz nel 1950, sembra ideato con lo scopo di fornire, per analogia o per contrasto, una più approfondita caratterizzazione dei personaggi, principali e minori, del poema. Di tale funzione è rivestita la stretta corrispondenza tra due scene analoghe che hanno come protagonisti Cesare (5, 504-596) e Pompeo (8, 159-192) in dialogo con i loro timonieri. I due segmenti narrativi, simili per ambientazione, struttura e modelli poetici, si articolano in realtà come ‘omologhi a contrasto’: tramite un identico frasario e il ricorso ai medesimi stilemi il poeta mette in risalto la diversa natura dei due personaggi strutturati secondo un’opposizione speculare che ri-chiama il contrasto tra l’audacia di Cesare e l’ἀμηχανία di Pompeo su cui si fonda anche la σύγκρισις tra i due eroi che apre il poema (1, 129-157).

In the scholium ad Alpes (Lucan. 1, 183) published in Cavajoni's Supplementum, the textual crux †sale aceto rupit may be resolved by replacing sale with calido. The emendation is supported by a good number of sources describing the mining technique adopted by the Carthaginians to crack rocks, which were broken by the combined action of fire and vinegar.

La narrazione della fuga di Pompeo dal campo di Farsàlo ha posto non pochi problemi agli esegeti del Bellum ciuile di Lucano a causa dell’atteggiamento, non privo di stridenti contraddizioni, assunto dal personaggio specialmente nella sezione incipitaria del libro VIII. Questo studio, attraverso un commento di tipo lemmatico, intende analizzare a peculiare fisionomia dell’ ‘eroe’ lucaneo in tale fase del racconto. Nel lavoro di commento, accanto ai modelli del Cordovese, si è cercato di dar conto della ricezione del suo testo presso autori antichi, medievali e moderni che, oltre ad attestare l’articolata fortuna del Bellum ciuile, contribuiscono a chiarire il senso di alcuni suoi passi problematici. Nel tentativo di offrire una visione completa delle soluzioni prospettate intorno ai principali nodi dell’opera di Lucano, si è tenuto altresì conto del vasto lavorio di esegesi che si è sviluppato nel tempo in margine al poema a partire dalla scoliastica tardoantica e medievale per giungere, attraverso i commenti di età umanistica e moderna, ai lavori dei secoli XIX-XXI.

Despite the importance of the intratextual relationships between the books 5th and 8th of Lucan’s Bellum civile, the complex network of references and internal correspondences between the two books has not been specifically investigated. Nevertheless, it plays an important role not only in terms of the poem’s structure, as it brings further evidence to support its scan in tetrads, but also at the level of the character system, as it is a useful tool to better understand its specific characteristics. This is especially evident in the close correspondence between two similar scenes where Caesar (5, 504-96) and Pompey (8, 159-92) dialogue with their helmsmen. The two narrative segments – similar in setting, structure and poetic models – are articulated as “contrasting homologues”: through a similar phrasebook and identical stylistic features, the poet highlights the different nature of the two characters structured according to a specular opposition which recalls the opening σύγκρισις between the two heroes (1, 129-57) where the poet highlights the contrast between the Caesar’s audacia and Pompey’s ἀμηχανία.

Attributive philology is rooted in stylistic evaluation. Boiardo’s volgarizzamenti are widely debated and provide data for stylistic assessment in the light of literary genres, i.e. literary (but not “highbrow”) prose rather than lyric or narrative poetry. This approach sheds light on an individual style that is different from Boiardo’s as a poet, especially in his translation of Cornelius Nepos’ work. A stylistic analysis needs to be complemented by a philological study of the text to explain miscomprehensions and gaps in the translation in the light of the typical errors of the Medieval tradition, which probably characterised the manuscript Boiardo used for his translation. The combination of a stylistic and philological approach is necessary for correct authorship attribution, since the traits deriving from the literary genre and Diskurstradition contribute to the evaluation of the text against its historical background.

Despite the common opinion that in Lucan’s Bellum civile the Götterapparat is absent, the superhuman element plays a not secondary role in the architecture of the poem where it seems to respond to a catastrophic intent. This is evident if we consider the character of Pompey who behaves with a fierce opposition to the fate and the gods at the moment of his death. This helps to understand the complexity of Lucan’s ‘religious’ vision where philosophical, historical and literary instances are present. In the poem, religious sentiment, literarily encoded in stereotyped structures, is distorted into forms that are not consistent with traditional models; similarly, the presence of typical epic elements is punctually disregarded or formulated according to paradoxical features that seem impious if judged with usual canons.

In the opening section of Lucan’s "Bellum civile" book 8 (vv. 1-8) the narration of Pompey’s flight through the Vale of Tempe reveals an allusion to the description of the Cretan Labyrinth by Ovid (met. 8.155-168). The analysis of the passage not only allows a better comprehension of Lucan’s text and his allusive technique, but it also contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex character of Pompey: the image of the labyrinth underlines his ἀμηχανία and qualifies him in opposition to the stoic sapiens; at the same time it also announces his moral progression toward virtus.