Character attack and invective speech in the roman republic

Cicero as target

Henriette van der Blom

pp. 37-57

in: Martijn Icks, Eric Shiraev (eds), Character assassination throughout the ages, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014

Abstract

The greatest orator of ancient Rome, Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC), was a master of political invective and character assassination. Through denigration and denunciation, Cicero forced his fellow senator Catiline to flee Rome, provoked his senatorial colleague Clodius to the point where he sent Cicero himself into exile, and, finally, enraged the consul and military commander Mark Antony to such a degree that he ordered Cicero's murder. These were extreme outcomes of political oratory in ancient Rome, where invective formed an ingrained and accepted part of political life and daily political encounters. Nevertheless, these instances are indicative of the role played by oratory in making or breaking political careers and lives in the Roman Republic.

Cited authors

Cicero Marcus Tullius