Pharsalia : Dramatic Episodes of the Civil Wars. Also Known as: On the Civil War

The Pharsalia: Dramatic Episodes of the Civil Wars is a Roman epic poem. The narrative is about the civil war between Julius Caesar and the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Great. The title Pharsalia refers to the Battle of Pharsalus in 48BC, in northern Greece, although the poem was probably not titled this originally. Caesar decisively defeated Pompey in Pharsalus. This poem is considered to be the best epic poem of the Silver Age of Latin literature. It was originally written in Latin, in approximately A.D. 61-65, by the Roman poet Lucan, and probably left unfinished upon his death in A.D. 65. This edition contains line numbers and footnotes.