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Cicero and the Catilinarian Conspiracy, by Charles Odahl
London & New York: Routledge, 2011. Pp. xvi, 102. Illus., maps, chron., notes, biblio., index. $54.95 paper. ISBN: 0415808782.
A Fresh Look at Catiline’s Conspiracy
In 63 BC, the
ambitious
Roman populares politician Lucius Sergius Catilina organized a coup against the Republic that was only frustrated by the political skill of Marcus Tullius Cicero with a little help from Fortune. Two decades later, the historian Sallust, who had been an eyewitness, composed a monograph on the plot which remains a valuable read.
Building on Sallust,
Prof. Odahl (Boise State)
draws upon the writings of
Cicero, later ancient historians, and modern scholars
to
give us
a
more nuanced
account
of the conspiracy
, often coming down to an almost hour-by-hour treatment, while delving into the political, economic, social, and military factors that had brought the Republic to a state of almost continuous crisis
.
In addition,
Odahl goes
beyond the events surrounding the coup and its frustration to
discu
s
s how the Roman Republic, particularly as depicted by Cicero, affected the thinking of the “Founding Fathers,” while reminding us that all arguments about lessons from the past are
not
necessarily accurate for the present.
A
volume in the Routledge series “Studies in Ancient History,”
Cicero and the Catilinarian Conspiracy
will prove a
useful read for those interested in the Roman Republic,
and
will also prove profitable reading for anyone interested in republican institutions
or the coup d’etat as a political instrument.
Note:
Cicero and the Catilinarian Conspiracy is also available in hardback at $135.00, ISBN 978-0-415-87472-4
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Reviewer:
Buy It At Amazon.com
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