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Cicero’s speech pro Flacco, the longest extant repetundae (extortion) defence speech remains curiously understudied within the orator’s oeuvre. Primarily cited for its xenophobic rhetoric against provincials, the speech was delivered late during the first consulship of Gaius Julius Caesar (59 BCE), a critical turning point in the trajectory of late Republican politics, and dwells extensively on the aftermath of Cicero’s own consular actions vis-à-vis the so-called Catilinarian conspiracy. The speech lies between several crucial aspects of Late Republican history and warrants reassessment as a source for the period. This paper focuses on two aspects of the speech: how Cicero’s appeal to the jury constructs and depends upon a particular image of the politics of res publica; and how the speech frames itself against contemporary concerns around Roman imperialism. By doing so, it seeks to stimulate discussion around the place of the speech in modern historical scholarship.
Brad Jordan is Associate Professor of Classics at IFIKK.
The event is open to the public, and all interested parties are cordially invited to attend. A Zoom link will be provided via the Classics Seminar mailing list. If you would like to subscribe to the list (or present at the seminar), please get in touch with Tor Ivar Østmoe. Following the presentation, we will gather at Café Eckers for drinks and further informal discussions. Everyone is welcome to join (please note that expenses are not covered by the seminar).