Tacitus, the epic successor Virgil, Lucan, and the narrative of civil war in the histories
Allusions to the epic poets Virgil and Lucan in the writing of the Roman historian Tacitus (c. 55 - c. 120 C.E.) have long been noted. This monograph argues that Tacitus fashions himself as a rivaling literary successor to these poets; and that the emulative allusions to Virgil's 'Aeneid&#...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Leiden ; Boston
Brill
2012
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| Series: | Mnemosyne supplements
volume 345 |
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| Summary: | Allusions to the epic poets Virgil and Lucan in the writing of the Roman historian Tacitus (c. 55 - c. 120 C.E.) have long been noted. This monograph argues that Tacitus fashions himself as a rivaling literary successor to these poets; and that the emulative allusions to Virgil's 'Aeneid' and Lucan's 'Bellum Civile' in Books 1-3 of his inaugural historiographical work, the 'Histories', complement and build upon each other, and contribute significantly to the picture of repetitive, escalating civil war in the work. The argument is founded on the close reading of a series of related passages in the 'Histories', and it also broadens to consider certain narrative techniques and strategies that Tacitus shares with writers of epic. |
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| Physical Description: | xi, 215 pages 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9789004229044 9004229043 ((e-book)) |
