The Assassination of Caesar

Cicero: Second Philippic

In this course, Dr Andrew Sillett (University of Oxford) explores Cicero’s Second Philippic. We begin by outlining the historical background to the speech, starting with the assassination of Caesar on 15 March and ending with the dramatic date of Cicero’s speech: 19 September – focusing along the way on the figure of Mark Antony. After that, we think in more detail about the speech itself, focusing in particular on Cicero’s objectives in publishing such a damning criticism of Antony, before looking in more detail at the genre of invective more generally. Finally, in the seventh module, we think about the events in the year or so following the dramatic date of the speech. What changed, and to what extent could Cicero take the credit?

The Assassination of Caesar

In his module, we think about the reconfiguration of political alliances that followed the death of Caesar, focusing in particular on Cicero’s attempts to capitalise on the political instability in the spring and summer of 44 BC.