The motifs of fons inspirationis and labor limae lost their semantic force in Latin poetry after the Augustan age. This book analyzes these two topoi from Ovid to Martialand shows how poetic inspiration and lima poetica are subtly displayed for the purpose of self-fashioning and communication by poets with theirpatrons.

There is no other work of Greco-Roman poetry that has evoked such dissonant reactions as Lucan's Bellum Civile. Whereas the condemnation of the epic had reached its climax in the 19th century, the 20th century saw its gradual rehabilitation. Now the time has come for a contemporary re-assessment of the fascinating epic on Rome's maior civil war. The essay-collection presents 18 articles by renowned scholars of the maior scientific communities (Australia/UK/USA, Belgium/The Netherlands, Germany/Switzerland), focussing on the relevant issues of modern Lucan-scholarship.