Caesar Perpetuus?: Cyclical Behavior in Lucan’s Caesar Similes

Examination of three similes in Lucan’s Bellum Civile shows that Caesar functions according to a cyclical model in which a violent release of energy is followed by a state of exhaustion, which then leads to regeneration in preparation for another outburst. Although the repetition of this process would render him invulnerable, the same similes also suggest that the cycle could be broken—a situation that would ensure Caesar’s demise. These hypothetical outcomes thus serve as opposing templates through which Caesar’s fate in the narrative proper may be evaluated.