Book contents
- Institutions and Ideology in Republican Rome
- Institutions and Ideology in Republican Rome
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Modes of Political Communication
- Part II Political Alliances
- Chapter 5 Political Alliances and Rivalries in Contiones in the Late Roman Republic
- Chapter 6 Theophanes of Mytilene, Cicero and Pompey’s Inner Circle
- Chapter 7 The Garden and the Forum
- Chapter 8 Cato, Pompey’s Third Consulship and the Politics of Milo’s Trial
- Part III Institutions in Theory and Practice
- Part IV Memory and Reputation
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 7 - The Garden and the Forum
Epicurean Adherence and Political Affiliation in the Late Republic
from Part II - Political Alliances
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 May 2018
Book contents
- Institutions and Ideology in Republican Rome
- Institutions and Ideology in Republican Rome
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Modes of Political Communication
- Part II Political Alliances
- Chapter 5 Political Alliances and Rivalries in Contiones in the Late Roman Republic
- Chapter 6 Theophanes of Mytilene, Cicero and Pompey’s Inner Circle
- Chapter 7 The Garden and the Forum
- Chapter 8 Cato, Pompey’s Third Consulship and the Politics of Milo’s Trial
- Part III Institutions in Theory and Practice
- Part IV Memory and Reputation
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Although Epicureanism was notorious for its exhortation to avoid politics and for its emphasis on personal security and happiness, several prominent politicians of the late Roman Republic have been identified with confidence as adherents of the philosophy. Among these were L. Calpurnius Piso, the father-in-law of Julius Caesar, and C. Cassius Longinus, one of the assassins of the dictator, as well as the short-lived consul C. Vibius Pansa and the notorious Memmius, dedicatee of Lucretius' De Rerum Natura. This chapter explores how these figures integrated their apparently incompatible philosophical and political identities, and explores some commonalities between their career strategies, such as avoidance of oratory and reliance on the non-popular aspects of electioneering. It also examines their relationships and alliances, not only with each other, but also with the most powerful figures of their day, including Caesar, into whose faction they all, at one time or another, fell.
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- Information
- Institutions and Ideology in Republican RomeSpeech, Audience and Decision, pp. 147 - 164Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018