Plutarch and Dio on Cicero at the trial of Milo

The accounts of the trial of Milo given by Plutarch and Dio provide a valuable insight into the working methods of the two writers. A close examination of the incident in relation to the structure of Plutarch’s Life of Cicero confirms that the Life is a carefully structured unit which assumes audien...

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Main Author: Fotheringham, Lynn S.
Other Authors: Ash, Rhiannon
Format: Book Section
Published: Oxford University Press 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50855/
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author Fotheringham, Lynn S.
author2 Ash, Rhiannon
author_facet Ash, Rhiannon
Fotheringham, Lynn S.
author_sort Fotheringham, Lynn S.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The accounts of the trial of Milo given by Plutarch and Dio provide a valuable insight into the working methods of the two writers. A close examination of the incident in relation to the structure of Plutarch’s Life of Cicero confirms that the Life is a carefully structured unit which assumes audience knowledge of events and presents a particular picture of Cicero. A similar exploration of Dio’s account of the failing years of the Republic reveals the historian both playing with annalistic structure and emphasizing this incident in order to highlight the contemporary political breakdown; he too is interested in constructing a picture of Cicero in relation to his context, and hostility to the orator cannot explain all his choices. Granting literary skill and purpose to both of these writers allows us greater insight into the imperial reception of Cicero.
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spelling nottingham-508552020-05-04T16:49:05Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50855/ Plutarch and Dio on Cicero at the trial of Milo Fotheringham, Lynn S. The accounts of the trial of Milo given by Plutarch and Dio provide a valuable insight into the working methods of the two writers. A close examination of the incident in relation to the structure of Plutarch’s Life of Cicero confirms that the Life is a carefully structured unit which assumes audience knowledge of events and presents a particular picture of Cicero. A similar exploration of Dio’s account of the failing years of the Republic reveals the historian both playing with annalistic structure and emphasizing this incident in order to highlight the contemporary political breakdown; he too is interested in constructing a picture of Cicero in relation to his context, and hostility to the orator cannot explain all his choices. Granting literary skill and purpose to both of these writers allows us greater insight into the imperial reception of Cicero. Oxford University Press Ash, Rhiannon Mossman, Judith Titchener, Frances B. 2014-06-25 Book Section PeerReviewed Fotheringham, Lynn S. (2014) Plutarch and Dio on Cicero at the trial of Milo. In: Fame and infamy: essays for Christopher Pelling on characterization in Greek and Roman biography and historiography. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 193-207. ISBN 9780199662326 reception structure oratory Cicero Plutarch Dio http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199662326.001.0001/acprof-9780199662326-chapter-13 doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199662326.003.0013 doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199662326.003.0013
spellingShingle reception
structure
oratory
Cicero
Plutarch
Dio
Fotheringham, Lynn S.
Plutarch and Dio on Cicero at the trial of Milo
title Plutarch and Dio on Cicero at the trial of Milo
title_full Plutarch and Dio on Cicero at the trial of Milo
title_fullStr Plutarch and Dio on Cicero at the trial of Milo
title_full_unstemmed Plutarch and Dio on Cicero at the trial of Milo
title_short Plutarch and Dio on Cicero at the trial of Milo
title_sort plutarch and dio on cicero at the trial of milo
topic reception
structure
oratory
Cicero
Plutarch
Dio
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50855/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50855/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/50855/