THE ROLE OF JUPITER IN THE ARGUMENTATIVE SYSTEM OF CICERO’S ORATIONS
Abstract
Roman comprehension of the divine right entailed the completion of earlier, binding treaties between humans and deities. Cicero himself firmly believed in this ius divinum of the State.
As the supreme deity, Jupiter was unsurpassed in Rome. Even triumphs were tightly connected to Jupiter’s cult. When Cicero began his career, with his orations against Q. Caecilius and, subsequently, against Verres, Roman society was still reeling from the aftershocks of Sulla’s regime. Cicero’s consulate in 63 BCE and his actions during Catiline’s rebellion mark another rise in Cicero’s citing of Jupiter. During the aftershocks of Caesar’s death, Cicero turns to religion and Rome’s supreme deity to lend him authority and influence over the members of the Senate,
We strongly believe there is more to be gleaned from this, often neglected, aspect of Cicero’s orations, not only about Cicero’s attitude towards religion, but also about the Roman society and the place of religion within it.
References
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