Letter 63 (Att. 13.52)
Cicero wrote this letter to Atticus in 45 BCE informing him about J. Caesar's recent visit during the Saturnalia celebration. Although Cicero claims not to regret Caesar's stay, he describes the incredible crowd that followed Caesar; his army which filled the villa, his entourage which was richly received and his slaves and freedmen who also had to be entertained. Although his visit may have been welcome, it seems that it was also a tremendous financial responsibility to provide a sumptuous feast for all who accompanied the leader, which is perhaps why Cicero made the comment that he would not say "amabo te, eodem ad me cum revertere" to his guest- once was apparently enough. However, this letter does provide interesting insight into how feasts were carried out and how important visitors were received during this period.
"The Delivery and Confidentiality of Cicero's Letters"
John Nicholson
Nicholson's article describes the postal service, or lack there of, during Cicero's life time. He indicates that due to the absences of complaint regarding cost and the frequency of Cicero's letters, it must have been relatively inexpensive and easy to send letters during the late Republic, at least within Italy and closer regions. There were a variety of means by which one could send a letter, either hired letter carriers, personal slaves or employees, or friends and acquaintances who happened to be travelling to a particular region. However, there were difficulties in this system. Privacy was not always guaranteed; the letter could either be intercepted by spies or read by the courier himself. Nicholson provides many examples of coded speech that Cicero employed to prevent spies from understanding his messages. Cicero would also write in Greek at times for this purpose. However, the safest method was to entrust any sensitive information to the letter carrier to relay when the letter was delivered (if the courier himself was trustworthy). Multiple copies of a letter were also sent out with different carriers at times. Some routes were not safe and some couriers not prompt, this helped to ensure at least one copy would arrive safely to its recipient. Despite these precautions, Nicholson concludes that although there was no postal service, sending and receiving letter during Cicero's life time was easy and semi-dependable.
Andrea Johnson
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Cicero's Letter 63 (Cic., Att. 13.52) and Classsen's 'Documents of a Failing Marriage. The Case of Cicero and Terentia.'
Cic., Att. 13.52
In this letter, Cicero writes to his friend Atticus from his villa at Puteoli regarding a visit from Julius Caesar to Philippus' villa. Cicero describes Caesar coming along with two-thousand of his soldiers to the villa to be his guest. But instead of behaving harshly towards Cicero, the Roman statesman writes that Caesar was a courteous guest and that his visit was a pleasant one when he arrived during the Saturnalia festival. Cicero goes on to write that Caesar went about his daily routine such as walking along the beach, bathing and dining. What is interesting is that at the dinner party, Cicero remarks about the substance of the conversation. Now that he is under the rule of a dictator, the best he can hope for is to discuss literary matters rather than politics because in the dicatorship of Caesar, Cicero is unable to be an influential actor in Roman politics as he was once able to be.
Classen, 'The Case of Cicero and Terentia.'
In this article, J.M. Classen examines the arguments of previous scholars and ancient sources as to why Cicero and Terentia divorced and offers a new insight as to why their marriage ended. Classen examines previous theories as to why the couple's union dissolved in order to offer new explanations. What I found useful in this article is how Classen emphasizes how important it is not to make assumptions about the nature of marriage, divorce and finance in antiquity in thinking that they are synonymous with their modern counterparts. Classen argues that Cicero mentions Terentia at least forty-four times in the body of writings that survive, but more often than not, she is mentioned but not named specifically. With the advent of the civil war between Caesar and the Roman senate led by Pompey, Cicero's letters to Terentia became shorter, but Classen does not argue that this is sufficient to assert that the relationship between Cicero and Terentia was in a downward spiral towards divorce. Classen argues that the reason for their divorce could be attributed to a variety of factors. One of these could have been from the death of their daughter Tullia and her son. Another factor could have been due to the constant political and financial stress that Cicero faced during this turbulent period at the end of the Roman Republic. One of the theories that I found interesting for their divorce that Classen postulates is Cicero's need to control the marriage relationship. Cicero was unable to control poltical events and persons like Caesar, he couldn't control the death of his daughter Tullia, but he could control whether or not he would be married to Terentia. His ability to divorce his wife could give him a sense of control when he is surrounded by events and persons that he is unable to control. In conclusion, a good article that examines the sources carefully and identifies the weaknesses inherent in them with some interesting theories in explaining the end of Cicero's and Terentia's marriage.
Jay Smith
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