Pro Archia

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Pro Archia (poeta) ("For [the poet] Archias") is one in the year 62 BC. Chr. Held defense speech of the Roman politician and lawyer Marcus Tullius Cicero for the poet Archias . Cicero defended Archias, about whom no more is known than is mentioned in the speech, against the prosecutor Grattius. It is possible that behind Grattius there is the party of Pompey , which with Archias also wanted to meet his rich protectors, the two Luculli . He was accused of presuming Roman citizenship , which according to the lex Papia of 65 BC. Was threatened with expulsion from Rome .

Structure of the speech

In this speech Cicero deviates from the usual division of a court speech, which he has already prepared in §3.

  • The exordium , that is the introduction, is made by Cicero in §§ 1–3: he explains the reason for taking over the process (gratitude because he was a pupil of Archias); he asks to be able to deliver the speech in a different way than usual.
  • The proposal , i.e. the specification of the facts, is made in § 4. Archias is a Roman citizen; but if he weren't, he deserved to be granted citizenship.
  • The narration , i.e. the narration of the course of events, is taken from § 4M. up to §7. The Greek origin of Archias is reported as well as his arrival in Rome. The trip to Sicily, the return and the acquisition of citizenship are also mentioned.
  • The Argumentatio I (§§ 8-11) contains the refutation of the accusation. Reasons are given as to why the charge is said to be false. Cicero gives witnesses for his testimony ( Lucullus , citizen of Herakleia ). The reliability of the witnesses is more relevant than the things recorded in writing. The absence of the name in the census lists can be explained by an absence from Rome or a non-holding of the census .
  • The Argumentatio II (§§ 12–30) makes up the largest part of the speech, but is extra causam . Cicero talks about the value of mental work in general (12–16), specifically highlighting the role of education in a) mental training and b) recreation. Then (17-30) he talks about the special merit of Archias in this regard. He deals with Archias and education as well as Archias as a poet. Comparisons are made with Homer and other thinkers. Cicero emphasizes the value of human education, humanitas . Archias is also an excellent example of an educated (albeit immigrant) Roman citizen.
  • The Peroratio (§§ 31f.) Closes the speech in a normal way: Cicero asks the jury to acquit his client and briefly calls out his arguments, which he presented in Argumentatio I (and those based on the long explanations about poets and humanitas have certainly faded somewhat in the jury's perception), in memory.

Cicero's speech actually seemed to have resulted in an acquittal. A received letter from Cicero (cf. ad Att. I 16:15) presupposes Archias' presence in Rome.

Text editions and translations

  • Altay Coşkun (Critical Edition, translation with introduction and historical-philological commentaries): Cicero and Roman Citizenship. Defense of the poet Archias . Edition Ruprecht , Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-7675-3054-6 .
  • Carsten Schmieder (transl., Ed. And with an essay by Carsten Schmieder): Pro Archia poeta. = Defense for the poet Archias. Hybris Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-939735-02-1 .
  • Otto Schönberger (translator and publisher): Pro A. Licinio Archia poeta oratio. = Speech for the poet A. Licinius Archias. Latin / German. Reprint of the 2006 edition with bibliographical additions. Reclam, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-15-001268-0 ( Reclam's Universal Library 1268).
  • Helmuth Vretska , Karl Vretska (transl. And ed.): Pro Archia poeta. A testimony to the spirit's struggle for recognition. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1979, ISBN 3-534-06071-7 ( Texts on research 31).

literature

  • Michael von Albrecht , Helmut Vester: Cicero's speech “Pro Archia”. Interpretation and teaching. Kerle, Heidelberg 1970 ( Heidelberg texts. Didactic series 2, ZDB -ID 2128785-5 ).
  • O. Schönberger: Text-critical comments on Cicero's Archias speech. In: Helikon. 8, 1968, ISSN  0017-9981 , pp. 352-353.

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