How long does it take to read Pharsalia?
Lucan
Pharsalia by Lucan takes about 6 hours 16 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 6 hours 16 minutes
A weekend read
First published 1486. 342 pages, about 94,050 words.
13 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 10 hours 27 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 6 hours 16 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 3 hours 55 minutes |
The page count is the median across 182 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
"In this edition Professor Fantham offers the first full-scale commentary on the neglected second book of Lucan's epic poem on the war between Caesar and Pompey: De bello civili. Book II presents all three leading figures - Cato, Caesar and Pompey - in speech and action. It expresses the moral and political dilemma of civil war and portrays Pompey's loss of authority during his withdrawal from Italy in language designed to evoke and cancel Virgil's heroic presentation of the foundation myth of Aeneas. It is a book rich in the history and geography of Roman Italy, including the retrospective narrative of Marius' and Sulla's reigns of civil terror at Rome, an unusual wedding scene, a verbal map of Italy, and a swift-paced narrative of Caesar's blockade and Pompey's Dunkirk-like evacuation of the republican forces from Brundisium." "In her introduction Professor Fantham gives a general account of Lucan's life and work, and continues with a discussion of his narrative and interpretation of Caesar's military 'invasion' of Italy covering books I and II, a survey of language, style and metre, and a brief history of the text."--BOOK JACKET.
Subjects: Campaigns, Criticism and interpretation, Facsimiles, History, Latin Epic poetry, Latin Manuscripts
