Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Arts

Program

Classics

Supervisor

Steinbock, Bernd

Abstract

As part of a senate proposal to erect a commemorative monument for the fallen soldiers of the legio Martia (Philippic 14.30-35), Cicero delivered a eulogy that is strikingly similar to an Athenian epitaphios logos. This strategy of rhetorical intertextuality merits a closer examination: why would Cicero borrow so explicitly from the genre of Athenian epideictic oratory in a deliberative speech before the Roman Senate?

A detailed comparison of Philippic 14.30-35 to the extant Athenian epitaphioi shows that Cicero imitates the Athenian funeral orations structurally, thematically, and verbally. This imitation not only strengthens his unprecedented proposal of a monument for the fallen soldiers, but also allows Cicero to depict the conflict with Marc Antony as an existential struggle for the survival of the res publica, to characterise Antony as a hostis, and to portray himself as ‘the guardian of the res publica’ and even as the ‘Roman Demosthenes.’

Summary for Lay Audience

From September 44 to April 43 BCE, the Roman orator and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero delivered the Philippic orations, a series of speeches in which he urged the Roman Senate to take a hardline stance against the alleged renegade Marcus Antonius by proclaiming him a public enemy (hostis) and declaring war upon him. In the fourteenth – and final – Philippic oration, Cicero proposed for a commemorative monument to be erected for the fallen soldiers of the legio Martia (the Martian legion) who had been killed while fighting against Antonius. As part of this proposal, Cicero delivers a eulogy that is strikingly similar to a classical Athenian funeral oration (epitaphios logos), the speech that was spoken at the annual public funeral ceremony for the war dead in classical Athens. This exciting strategy of rhetorical intertextuality merits a closer examination: why would Cicero borrow so explicitly from the genre of Athenian funeral oratory in a deliberative speech before the Roman Senate?

This thesis strives to address two major questions. First, where in the text of Philippic 14.30-35 does Cicero borrow and imitate commonplaces of Athenian funeral oratory? Second, what is the purpose behind this imitation? By comparing Philippic 14.30-35 to the extant Athenian funeral orations, I build on the preliminary research of Josef Mesk and demonstrate that Cicero imitates the Athenian funeral orations structurally, thematically, and verbally. Considering why Cicero borrowed from the Athenian epitaphic genre – that is, why this was an effective rhetorical strategy given his aims – I argue that Cicero’s imitation of an Athenian funeral oration and allusion to the tradition of Athenian epitaphic oratory served several purposes: it strengthened his unprecedented proposal for a monument to be erected for the fallen soldiers of the legio Martia; it depicted the conflict with Antony as an existential struggle for the survival of the res publica (Roman Republic); it portrayed Marcus Antonius as a public enemy of Rome; and it helped Cicero characterise himself as the guardian of the res publica and liken himself to the famous Athenian orator Demosthenes, both for his immediate audience and for posterity.

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