Lucan

Lucan, full name Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (39-65), Roman poet, born in Córdoba, Spain, and educated in Rome. At first in favour with the Roman emperor Nero, Lucan was later forbidden by the emperor to write any more poetry. In his resentment Lucan joined a conspiracy against Nero's life. When the plot was discovered, the emperor ordered Lucan to commit suicide. The only extant work of Lucan is the unfinished Bellum Civile, better known as the Pharsalia (in ten books), an epic of the Roman civil war between the generals Gaius Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. It is unique among Latin epics because it does not employ any element of divine intervention in historical events. Generally considered one of the foremost Latin epics, it was much read during the Middle Ages and has been translated into English.