Lucan and Republican Promagistrates

Abstract

This paper argues that Lucan’s use of the word privatus to refer to the proconsuls Caesar and Pompeius corresponds to the republican formal definition of promagistrates as privati vis-à-vis magistratus (the existence of such a definition is, however, a subject of modern debate). Additionally, Lucan uses the label privatus to highlight Caesar and Pompeius’ unusually proactive role in the sphere domi, outside their sphere of competence. Building on this analysis, it becomes possible to better appreciate Lucan’s distortions in his representation of Caesar as a proconsul.