abstract:The Pharsalia (also known as De Bello Civili "On the Civil War" or also simply Bellum Civile "The Civil War") is a Roman epic poem by the poet Lucan, telling of the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Great. The poem's title is a reference to the Battle of Pharsalus, which occurred in 48 BC, near Pharsalus, Thessaly, in northern Greece.