6 x 9. 384 pgs. (2003) Cloth 978-0-472-11261-6 $90.00S  Available Add to Cart Search this Book's Content About the Book Praise Look Inside Subjects Classical Studies--Roman / Law / Political Science

The Case for the Prosecution in the Ciceronian Era

Michael C. Alexander



A reconstruction of the case for the prosecution in the eleven trials in which Cicero delivered an extant defense speech

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About the Book

In The Case for the Prosecution in the Ciceronian Era, Michael C. Alexander offers a reconstruction of the case for the prosecution in eleven criminal trials held in the late Roman Republic. Scholars' previous understanding of these trials has been conditioned by the only extant primary source: the forensic speeches of Cicero. With the exception of one important trial, all these speeches are for the defense. In this study, Alexander analyzes Cicero's arguments to rebuild the lost side of the trials from the prosecution's point of view.

Alexander's examination of each trial reveals the strong points of the prosecution's case, as well as the weaknesses on which Cicero's defense seized. Alexander brings to bear his expertise on Roman law as he considers a wide variety of factors--evidence collected by the prosecution, legal arguments, rhetorical skill of advocates on both sides, and participants' personal prestige--to understand why the prosecutors believed they would emerge victorious.

The Case for the Prosecution in the Ciceronian Era is primarily a work of history, as it aims to shed light on what was actually said in these ancient trials. To accomplish that goal, it also draws on classical rhetorical theory and Roman law. By systematically considering a large number of trials, the book offers a corrective to the dominance of Ciceronian defense speeches in the study of ancient Roman criminal trials.

Michael C. Alexander is Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago.