Lecture 3

Titus Livius (Livy) wrote History of Rome in 142 books, 35 of which still survive to today, which sought to detail Rome's history from it's founding in 753 BC to the death of Drusus in 9 BC.

753: Founded by Romulus and Remus. 509: Tarquin overthrown; Republic established. 264-241: First Punic War 218-201: Second Punic War 149-146: Third Punic War, Carthage destroyed. 133: Tiberius Gracchus assassinated 54: De Republica (The Republic) 44: Caesar assasinated 31: Octavian defeats Antony to become Rome's sole ruler 27: Octavian renamed Augustus, Rome becomes a monarchy (though Romans don't call it as such, the Greeks are honest about it).

Cicero and Plato's Republic

  • Plato was high-level and abstract in Republic
  • Plato was also the high-level Greek author the Romans tended to learn from.
    • Romans would call the Greeks great, except for at Politics, within which the Romans outdid them.
    • Cicero likely would have disagreed about Plato's ideas on freedom.

Regarding Cicero

106 BC: born in Arpinum on Jan. 3 63 BC: Becomes a Roman Consul. Quashes Cataline's Conspiracy, making him rather popular within the ruling class. 58 BC: exiled by the tribune Clodius Pulcher 57 BC: Recalled at the behest of Pompey (general, statesman) at the behest of Milo (political agitator). 51-50 BC: made governor of Cilicia, sacked 'some stronghold of rebels' called Pindenissum. 49 BC: half-heartedly sided with the Pompeians during the Roman Civil War. 47 BC: Cicero returns to Rome and receives pardon from Caesar 44-43 BC: delivered 14 Philippics (oratics/denouncements) against the consul Mark Antony. 43 BC: proscribed by the Triumvirate and beheaded.

Education

  • Student of Philo of Larissa, the Academy of Plato's final scholarch. Came to Rome in 87 BC.
  • Principally an Academic Skeptic, but in adherence to that was not dogmatic about it, 'heard out' other schools of thought.

De Re Publica

Republic = libertas (not ruled by kings)

  • De Re Publica is first installment of his own political philosophy works.
  • Acted as a justification of the Roman Republic by writing a Roman version of Plato's republic.
    • Conceptualization of the Platonic ideal of Rome.
  • Mostly lost to time, only fragments survive.
  • Book 2: Scipio points out that Rome was a very long time in the making.
    • Constitution (political system) in Latin is res publica. Denotes things that collectively concern political life.

Enter: ze Kings

  • Numa (2nd king): introduces serious religion in Rome.
    • Cicero: religion and humane behavior allow state to survive
  • Cicero notes Greek influences are positive wrt Roman education
  • Ancus Marcus - state leapt forward in culture when Greek philosophy and art are combined with Roman politics and warfare.
  • Lucius Tarquinius: First Etruscan king.
    • Things start going bad.
  • Servius Tullius (servus means slave?), adopted son of Tarquinius I.
    • Reformed Roman politics, reorganizing population, distributing them into new groups so wealthy could hold power. Democracy is dangerous.
    • Servius' system is the foundation upon which the upcoming Republic was built.
  • Cicero: monarchy is the enemy of freedom. A just tyrant is still a tyrant.
  • Tarquin the Proud/Arrogant: kills Servius, becomes tyrant.
    • Tarquin (son-in-law) and Tullia (younger daughter of Servius)
  • Cicero: a successful state needs a little freedom but not too much. A good statesman should be practical.

Regarding Livy

  • Augustan-era writer (Octavian renamed to Augustus) who lived during times of extreme political change in Rome.
  • "What happens to a society that abandons its moral compass?"
  • Livy names Augustus three times, seeming to like him but implying criticisms certain acts of his.
  • Book 1: monarchy period is a collection of 'fables'.
  • Implied Servius might have ended the monarchy
  • Tends to be rather dramatic, likes to imagine history as almost a Greek tragedy.

509 BC: monarchy ostensibly ends. Livy's books tend to become more historical than dramatic from this point.

Overthrow of the Monarchy

  • Tarquin made large unpopular public works projects, forcing Roman citizens to labor at these.
  • Sextus Tarquinius (son of Tarquin) violates Lucretia (Collatinius' wife). She summons her father, husband and tells them of it, then commits suicide.
    • Sextus is awful.
  • Monarchy is summarily overthrown afterward.
  • Revolution led by Lucius Junius Brutus (Brutis = stupid, cultivated name but obviously not accurate), king replaced by consuls.
    • Consul's oath of office says they wouldn't be a king, Livy's Brutus' speech includes language used in the oath.
  • Brutus: hero insofar as he removed a tyrant. Would have been wicked/bad to remove Servius.
  • Cicero: Roman Republic was only successful because it developed over a long period of time.