Cato and libertas in Lucan's Bellum Civile
Author
Summary, in English
In the 60s CE, a young Roman named Lucan composed an epic poem about a civil war fought between Caesar and Pompey, an event that signaled the end of the Roman Republic. Aside from Caesar and Pompey, the poem draws attention to another major figure in Roman politics at the time, Cato the Younger; of particular note is the frequent occurrence of the word libertas (freedom) in the poem. This thesis focuses mainly on the particular interrelationship between Cato and libertas by analyzing a series of speeches made by Cato where he mentions the word in question; it will also focus on how other characters in the poem view libertas by analyzing speeches made by them to establish whether or not their views on libertas differ from that of Cato, as well as on how the author himself can have interpreted it.
Department/s
- Latin
- Master's Programme: Language and Linguistics
Publishing year
2021
Language
English
Full text
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Document type
Student publication for Master's degree (one year)
Topic
- Languages and Literatures
Supervisor
- Cajsa Sjöberg (senior lecturer)