BROOKLYN COLLEGE
CLASSICS 16
ROME: CITY OF EMPIRE
The Late Republic
The Revolution
Cicero (106-43 BC)
Cicero's political career coincided with the turbulent years of revolution
that led to the fall of the republic in the late first century BC. Cicero
as consul in 63 BC had to deal with a conspiracy led by Lucius Sergius
Catilina (generally called Catiline in English) (see paragraphs 10-22).
Catiline, in the words of the Oxford Classical Dictionary, [championed]
the cause of the poor and dispossessed: dissolute aristocrats, bankrupt
Sullan veterans, and those they had driven from their lands." Through the
untiring efforts of Cicero, the conspiracy was revealed and defeated. Many
conspirators were put to death (Catiline died in battle).
Twenty five years later, Roman was engulfed in a more serious struggle
for power between Pomepy and Julius Caesar. Cicero took the side of Pompey,
who was defeated by Caesar in the battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. Caesar
forgave Cicero (as he did with most of his political enemies), who became
one of Caesar's flatterers. Cicero took no part in the assassination of
Caesar, but sided with the assassins against Caesar's lieutenant, Marc
Antony. Cicero tried to use Octavian, the grandnephew and adopted son of
Julius (later to become Augustus), to destroy Antony, but Octavian joined
with Antony in a triumvirate (with Lepidus). This triumvirate became the
real government of Rome and moved against their enemies. Antony, angered
by a set of speeches that Cicero had made denouncing him insisted that
Cicero's name be included on a proscription list of enemies. Octavian reluctantly
agreed and Cicero was put to death.
In the following questions, the numbers in parentheses are references
to paragraphs in Plutarch's Life of Cicero. In answering the questions
that require one of a one (or more) paragraph answer, give examples from
Plutarch's text to illustrate your points. Send your answers to the following
questions to me by e-mail: rdunkle@brooklyn.cuny.edu.
QUESTIONS
-
Cicero was a 'new man' (see last sentence of paragraph 11). Exactly what
does this phrase mean (see Shelton, p. 215)?
-
Read about Cicero's prosecution of Verres, propraetor (governor) of Sicily(6-8).
Cicero proved himself to be a politician of great promise in his successful
prosecution of Verres. Read selections from Cicero's The Prosecution
of Verres in Shelton, pp. 277-287. What was Verres charged with in
his governorship of Sicily (see footnote 43 on p. 277)? Briefly list three
of Verres' crimes in Sicily (pp. 284-286).
-
Read about the Catilinarian conspiracy (10-22). What dangers to Rome did
this conspiracy pose (10)? To what cause does Plutarch attribute the existence
of this conspiracy (10)? What plans did Catiline have for Cicero (14)?
What was Catiline's reaction to Cicero's speech in the temple of Jupiter
Stator (16)? What were the plans of Lentulus, a colleague of Catiline in
the conspiracy (18)? What was the fate of the arrested conspirators (22)?
-
Cicero eventually lost the support of the first triumvirate (Caesar, Pompey,
and Crassus), who encouraged Cicero's enemy, Clodius, to attack him. What
accusation was brought against Cicero (end of 30)? What did Cicero do in
reaction to this accusation (31)? What measure did Clodius get passed against
Cicero (32)? What symbolic gesture was Clodius making when, after he had
driven Cicero out of Italy, he burned down his house and replaced it with
a temple to Liberty (33)?
-
Read about the civil conflict between Pompey and Caesar (37-38). Which
side did Cicero take in the war (38)? Describe Cicero's behavior after
the defeat and flight of Pompey (39). How did Caesar treat Cicero (39)?
-
After Julius Caesar's assassination, Cicero sought to use the grandnephew
and adopted son of Caesar, Octavian (referred to in your translation as
'young Caesar'), against Antony, whom Cicero and others suspected of seeking
supreme power for himself. Cicero persuaded the Senate to give Octavian
extraordinary powers to deal with Antony (45). Describe Octavian's behavior
after he had received these powers (46).
-
What did Antony order to be done to Cicero's body after he was killed (end
of 48-49). Note: The Latin word for "ships' rams" (the reinforced prows
of ships used for ramming in warfare, which decorated the speaker's platform
in the forum) is rostra (cf. our word 'rostrum').
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