The Art of Classical Oratory: Cicero and Ancient Rhetoric

The Art of Classical Oratory

Oratory is defined as the art of speaking persuasively in public.

Oratory is a literary genre that presents unique characteristics. First, it requires a political environment of freedom to develop, as it is stifled without freedom of expression. Hence, its boom occurred during Athenian democracy and the Roman Republic, followed by a decline in the imperial era.

Furthermore, like drama, public speaking requires a live audience and performance rather than mere reading, which is characteristic of historiography or novels. Only when Greek and Roman orators became aware of the importance of their speeches and the limitations of oral tradition did they begin to record and edit them. For instance, Cicero employed a slave named Tiro who took shorthand notes of everything his master said. Thanks to this diligence, some of the most important speeches of the classical world, particularly those of Demosthenes and Cicero, have survived to this day.

The Life and Legacy of Cicero

Cicero was born in 106 BC in Arpino, Lazio. His family, belonging to the equestrian order, sent him to Rome to receive the best education possible. Cicero excelled, quickly standing out among Roman youth for his oratorical skills. His popularity allowed him to launch a successful political career.

In 63 BC, Cicero reached the consulate, during which he discovered and suppressed the Catilinarian conspiracy. For his performance as consul, the Senate bestowed upon him the title of pater patriae (Father of the Fatherland).

Political Turmoil and the End of the Republic

When war broke out between Caesar and Pompey in 49 BC, Cicero, a staunch Republican, joined the Pompeian faction, which was eventually defeated at Pharsalia. Although Caesar, as dictator, held him in high regard and excused his position, Cicero chose to retire from public life.

After the assassination of Caesar, Cicero mistakenly believed that the full restoration of the Republic and freedom in Rome was possible. He returned to the political arena, delivering his famous Philippics against Mark Antony, who had claimed Caesar's legacy. This defiance cost him his life; he was killed by Antony's assassins, who nailed his head to a pike and paraded it through the Forum in 43 BC.