5. The World on Fire

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about how plausible Cicero’s depiction of Oppianicus Senior and his litany of crimes really is, focusing in particular on: (i) the fact that Cluentius was acquitted, which suggests that Cicero’s depiction of Oppianicus Senior (which takes up most of the speech) was at least somewhat plausible; (ii) the political context of the earlier trial – Marius and Sulla; and (iii) the reason that Cicero makes so little mention of this seemingly fundamentally important context.

Course

In this course, Dr Andrew Sillett (University of Oxford) explores Cicero’s Pro Cluentio. In the first module, we provide some of the key context for Cicero’s speech. When did the trial take place, and why is this important? What were the key features of the Roman court? How was a verdict reached? In the second module, we look at three of the four charges levelled against Cluentius, before turning in the third module to the fourth charge – a crime that relates to a trial that took place almost a decade previously. In the fourth module, we think about Cicero’s defensive strategy in this case, before moving on in the fifth module to explore the political context of that previous trial – a context that is fundamental to Cicero’s defence of his client – and why Cicero mentions it only in passing.

Lecturer

Andrew joined Brasenose in 2006 to study for his BA in Classics (Course IIA). Thanks to the generosity of the Helmore Fund, he was able to stay on for his MSt in Classical Languages & Literature. As a senior Germaine Scholar, he recently completed his DPhil on the early imperial reception of Cicero under the supervision of Llewelyn Morgan. His research interests include the reception of Cicero in the early imperial period, politics and thought in the late Roman Republic and early Principate.