La rappresentazione del palazzo di Cleopatra in Lucano, Bellum civile X

This paper deals with Lucan’s description of Cleopatra’s palace in Bellum civile 10. It fits into the epic tradition of representations of royal palaces, which dates back to Homer, Odyssey 7 (ekphrasis of the palace of Alcinous), although Lucan’s main terms of comparison are Catullus 64 (the palace of Peleus) and, above all, Virgil, Aeneid 1 (the palace of Dido). Lucan departs from this tradition in his undeniably hyperbolic representation of the Egyptian palace and its unparalleled luxury. Furthermore, his description is filtered through the patterns of Roman moralism: the highlighting and moralistic condemnation of Egyptian luxury are the very purpose of Lucan’s description, and this is an important novelty in the epic tradition of the ekphrasis of royal palaces.