Oratory in Rome

Cicero: De Imperio

In this course, Henriette van der Blom (University of Glasgow) explores Cicero's speech 'De Imperio Cn Pompeii', delivered in 66 BC. The course begins with an introduction to oratory in Rome, including the different kinds of speeches that an orator might deliver, before moving on to consider the historical and political context of the speech. In the third module, we look at the two main protagonists in this speech, Pompey and Cicero, before looking in the fourth module at the structure of the speech and the arguments that Cicero makes to prove that Pompey should be given what he wants. In the final speech, we look at the impact of the speech; firstly the impact of Pompey's command on Roman foreign and domestic policy, and secondly the impact on Cicero's political career.

Oratory in Rome

In this module, we explore oratory in Rome. This includes thinking abot who the orators were, where the speeches took place, and the different kinds of speech in Republican Rome - including the contio, the forensic (or legal) speech, and the Senate speech. We also spend some time thinking about oratorical education at Rome - especially among the social and political elite.