Episode CCXXI - An Entire Farrago (The Catiline Conspiracy II)
Mar 28, 2024
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Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans discusses Catiline's involvement in multiple failed plots in Rome. The podcast delves into the tumultuous Catiline Conspiracy of 64 BCE, highlighting political intrigue, power struggles, and the complex web of events leading to the pivotal moment in Roman history.
Catiline's alleged involvement in earlier conspiracies is clouded in uncertainty due to conflicting ancient sources.
Catiline's failed conspiracy in 66 BCE displayed internal discord and lacked authenticity, casting doubt on its true intentions.
Catiline's radical rhetoric and macabre rituals aimed at challenging traditional Roman power structures, setting the stage for a showdown in 63 BCE.
Deep dives
Pre-Cataline Conspiracies: Potential Collisions of Allegations
The episode explores the possibly fictitious first Catalinian conspiracy, predating the well-known one involving Cicero in 63 BCE. It delves into the confusion surrounding Catiline's involvement in earlier conspiracies and how events may have been retroactively associated with him due to a mix-up in accounts. Scholarly debates highlight the unreliable nature of ancient sources like Salust's Bellum Catalinae, suggesting that the alleged earlier plot involving Catiline may not have materialized.
Proto-conspiracy Details and Doubts
Salust's Chapter 18 discusses the consulship of Lucius Tullus and Manius Lepidus in 66 BCE, where Catiline faced charges of extortion preventing him from standing for the consulship in 65. The narrative involves a group including Catiline and Gnaeus Piso plotting to kill the replacement consuls, showcasing ambitions to seize power and provincial control. Despite the dramatic depiction, the conspiracy unfolds with internal discord and fails to materialize fully, raising doubts about its authenticity.
Catiline's Electioneering Tactics: Promises and Political Maneuvering
The episode delves into Catiline's campaign for the consulship of 63 BCE, where he aimed to sway allies with promises of cancelling debts, offering lucrative positions, and inciting anti-aristocratic sentiments. Salust portrays Catiline as appealing to societal grievances, promising liberty while advocating for the execution of the rich. The speech exemplifies Catiline's attempt to rally support through radical rhetoric and anti-establishment sentiments, setting the stage for his confrontational approach to challenging the existing power dynamics in Rome.
Catiline's Alleged Conspiratorial Designs: Oaths and Ambitions
The narrative culminates in Catiline's formation of an oath-bound alliance, symbolized by drinking human blood mixed with wine to solidify their commitment to the cause. Salust's depiction of Catiline's use of macabre rituals and radical rhetoric portrays him as a destabilizing force, undermining the traditional Roman political structure. The episode sets the stage for the tumultuous events of 63 BCE, hinting at the impending clash between Catiline's subversive agenda and the established Roman Republic.
In the upcoming episode, the focus shifts to the discovery and thwarting of Catiline's conspiracy in 63 BCE, shedding light on the real implications of his subversive activities. The narrative anticipates a direct confrontation between Catiline's disruptive tactics and the Roman Republic's defense of its institutional integrity. By comparing Catiline's approach to later power-seekers like Octavian, the podcast sets the stage for a historical showdown between traditionalists and revolutionaries within the Roman political landscape.
Catiline doesn't have the best reputation in Rome, and in the years after his failed conspiracy he has been implicated in every failed plot of that time. Was he involved in them? Possibly.
Part II of The Catiline Conspiracy
Guest: Associate Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University).
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