The failed conspiracy of Catiline occupies a pivotal point in the dissolution of the Roman republic. Falling between the civil wars of Sulla (88-81 BCE) and Caesar (49-46 BCE), Catilines uprising (63 BCE) is part of the long aftermath of the former and representative of (and contributing to) the social and political breakdown that led to the latter. It is also one of the best attested episodes from the late Republic, the subject of four Ciceronian speeches (and mentioned in many of his other works) and a monograph by the historian Sallust. In this advanced Latin class, we will read Sallusts Bellum Catilinae and Ciceros First Catilinarian in Latin, and the rest of Ciceros Catilinarian orations in English. Topics will include the place of this episode in the political history of the late Republic, its representation by Cicero and Sallust, and the broader historiographic issues it raises. Graduate students will read in addition select letters of Cicero.
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