Cicero's Consular Speeches

doi:10.1163/9789047400936_006

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Cicero's Consular Speeches

Published 2002 · Robert W. Cape

UNKNOWN SJR score

38

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Abstract

Cicero's consulship in 63 B.C. crowned a doggedly ambitious political career that has become one of the most memorable in Roman history. In his year as Rome's leading magistrate Cicero reconciled factional strife among the social classes, defeated a threat to the Senate's power, and rescued the city from a potential political and military coup known as the Catilinarian Conspiracy. He accomplished these feats through political rather than military means, by presenting his arguments openly before the Senate, various juries, and the Roman people. Cicero was named parens patriae , granted the corona civica , and a special thanksgiving was voted in his honor, the first ever granted a civilian for non-military action. Cicero's fame was not due to the fact that he happened to be consul in interesting times, but that he thrust himself into the middle of fractious domestic political issues and dared to develop and articulate a social policy. Keywords: Catilinarian Conspiracy; Cicero's consulship; Roman people; Senate; social policy

Study Snapshot

Key takeawayCicero's consulship in 63 B.C. reconciled social classes, defeated a threat to the Senate's power, and rescued the city from the Catilinarian Conspiracy through political means rather than military means.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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Cicero's Consular Speeches

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References

Citations

Cicero and Roman Education

Cicero's speeches and scholarship influenced Roman education from the early Empire to Late Antiquity, with a focus on teaching Cicero.

Haec patria est : the conceptualisation, function and nature of patria in the Roman world

patria in the Roman world was a complex, multifaceted concept that encompassed diverse individuals and influenced their collective identity, with no single, all-encompassing concept for the Roman Empire.

Memoria Saeptus: Cicero and the Mastery of Memory in His (Post-) Consular Speeches

Cicero's use of the term memoria in his post-consulship speeches reflects on the shared memory within Roman society and explores how he can shape his future renown through his mastery of memory.

The Cambridge Companion to Cicero

The Cambridge Companion to Cicero explores his intellectual background, political impact, and reception throughout history, from the late Republic to the Enlightenment.

The Art of Caesar's Bellum Civile: Literature, Ideology, and Community

Caesar's Bellum Civile effectively portrays the Roman Civil War, highlighting the limits of leniency and the impact of army-communities on the Roman people.

Meorum periculorum rationes utilitas rei publicae vincat. Zur Historizität der vierten Catilinaria

Cicero's Fourth Catilinarian effectively urges the senate to punish the conspirators, addressing senators' fear of severe consequences and refuting delays due to personal attacks.

Self-Restraint, Invective, and Credibility in Cicero's First Catilinarian Oration

Cicero's First Catilinarian Oration is notable for its sparse use of standard invective themes, reflecting the circumstances of the speech and audience expectations for the veracity of invective.

History and the making of the orator in Demosthenes and Aeschines

Demosthenes and Aeschines used historical context to enhance their personal credibility and authority in public discourse, highlighting the importance of citing the past in public discourse for political preeminence.