4. Pro Caelio

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, Andrew discusses Cicero's Pro Caelio, a speech made in defence of Caelius Rufus, who has been prosecuted for 'public violence'. Rather than addressing the actual charges, however, Cicero engages in a lengthy character assassination of one of the key witnesses, a lady named Clodia.

Course

In this course, Dr Andrew Sillett (University of Oxford) provides an introduction to Cicero's life and times through six legal and political speeches, from his first speech (Pro Roscio Amerino), delivered when he was just 26, through the speeches that would shape the last years of the Roman Republic and his own death at the hands of hired thugs.

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.