As a bull defeated: Escapes, retreats, and narrative strategies for a leader in decline. About Lucan. 2, 601-609

Abstract

As a bull defeated: Escapes, retreats, and narrative strategies for a leader in decline. About Lucan. 2, 601-609 · This article analyses a passage from the second book of the Bellum ciuile (601-609), in which Lucan comments on Pompey’s decision to leave Italy, because of Caesar’s victories, to reorganise his army. The poet makes a singular comparison with the behaviour of the bull, which, defeated by its rival, runs away to regain its strength, and prepare for a new fight. The simile, which is particularly extensive, has nevertheless created a series of questions, which we attempt to answer in the light of its relationship with the literary tradition and especially with Virgil, who uses it in several places from the Georgics to the Aeneid.