Event

Speaker: James Uden, Professor of Classical Studies, Boston University

Abstract: Lucan’s first-century CE epic Civil War is famous for its graphic images of dismemberment and physical beakdown. No other Latin epic depicts soldiers’ suffering in such spectacular, visceral detail. But this talk seeks to uncover a different current in Lucan’s text: a fascination with bodies that have become immune from harm. Indeed, while Latin epics with plague scenes (Lucretius, the Georgics, Ovid’s Metamorphoses) have enjoyed renewed interest as a result of the COVID pandemic, the exuberant displays of “immune machismo” (to quote Emily Martin) in Lucan’s poem equally, I argue, speak to our current moment. Bringing Lucan into dialogue with a range of ancient and modern thinkers on immunity, I argue that Lucan’s Civil War brings to life a dream of physical invulnerability – while being equally sensitive to its costs, and ultimately, its futility.