politics of the late republic key words

cursus honorum

a system of political offices in the senate in Rome, elected annually

dictator

a position of state established in periods of military crisis and awarded to one man by the consuls for 6 months ONLY

aedile

magistrate in charge of games, markets or buildings in Rome(optional)

amicitia, amicitiae, f.

friendship, bond between friends; alliance, association; friendly relations that furthers the success of influential Romans

augur

a state religious official at Rome who could "read" the flights of birds(known as talking to the auspices)

boni

Men considered to be ideal statesmen: well-educated, traditional, patriotic and experienced enough in politics to accept responsibility for making good decisions for the moral and political health of the state. (a term used by Cicero)

censor

two officials elected by the centuriate assembly for 18 months who were responsible for the census and supervising public morality

centuriate assembly

a voting body of citizens organised into 193 voting "centuries"(determined by wealth), responsible for electing consuls and praetors

clients

citizens who were bound by loyalty to a wealthy patron to support him in all his public interests(e.g. in elections)in return for support and resources

concordia ordinum

"The agreement of the orders": a political ideal held by Cicero in which the original structures of the Republican constitution were encouraged to flourish and continue, with the aristocracy and equites united in the common good of governing the Roman state

consul

one of the two leading senators who presided over the senate

cum digntate otium

"Leisure with prestige": Used in a wider sense by Cicero to refer to an absolute social, religious, legal and political status quo

dignitas

rank, dignity, importance, honour associated with social, religious and political standing

dominatio

a form of autocracy or despotism, which Romans loyal to the res publica loathed

Equites

a rank in the Roman class system which grew in wealth and status through occupation in commerce and finance

First Triumvirate

a private alliance formed in 60 between Julius Caesar, Pompey the Great and Marcus Licinius Crassus enabling each of the 3 men to achieve their personal political short-term goals. It lasted until Crassus's death in 53.

governor

men selected from an elite group of senators who had previously served as praetors or consuls, responsible for the smooth running, safety and taxation of a province of the state.

imperium

the power invested in a consul giving him the military command of the state army

inimicitia

enmity, hostility between families

libertas

freedom

nobiles

a select group of senatorial families distinguished by the inclusion of a consul in their ancestry

novus homō

"new man"; a man who is the first in his family to achieve the senatorial rank

optimates

a group of aristocratic senatorial families whose energies were channelled into the preservation of the political and social status quo

patricians

families whose ancestry could be traced back to the early days of Rome when they formed a ruling aristocratic group from whom the mythical founder of Rome- Romulus- chose the first 100 senators

patron

a man of significant social standing able to offer resources(financial, legal or simply food) to his clientela in return for loyalty

plebeians(plebs)

Roman citizens who weren't patricians. Originally a "lower" order, the plebeians gained significant wealth and nobility as a result of an ongoing "Conflict of the orders" from the 5th-3rd centuries BC

Pontifex Maximus, Pontificis Maximi (m)

Pontifex Maximus, high priest of the Roman state religion, most influential office in Ancient Roman religion

populares(-is singular)

noble senatorial families that aimed to secure power through the support of the people by appealing to them directly with proposals for improving their standards of living.

praetor

2nd in authority to the consuls and presiding over the law courts in Rome

quaestor

the first rung of the ladder of offices; responsible for the state treasury

res publica

"public affairs", Government, State that replaced the monarchy

senate

a deliberative assembly central to the government of the Roman Republic

senatus consultum ultimum (SCU)

abbreviated form of senatus consultum de re publica defendenda, a decree of the senate passed in times of crisis allowing the suspension of normal restrictions placed on consuls to do whatever was necessary to protect the state.

Senates Populusque Romanus (S.P.Q.R.)

The Senate and People of Rome

stoicism

this was a philosophical school founded by Zeno in Greece in the 4th Century BC; stoicism maintained that reason and soul were far more important than the body and it believed Virtus was the ultimate good

the philippics

a term used to refer to Cicero's final series of vitriolic speeches attacking Mark Antony from 44-43, named after the Athenian Demosthenes's Philippic delivered against Philip II of Macedon in the 4th century. Cicero wrote 14 Philippic speeches in all

tribal assembly

a voting body of citizens organised into the traditional 35 "tribes" of Rome(determined by family or by place of habitation), responsible for electing the lower offices in the senates, such as the aediles and quaestors

tribune of the plebs

10 officials elected from the plebeian order to act as a check on the senate and the cursus honorum in Rome

virtus, virtutis, f.

courage, virtue- a defining concept in the life of a Roman man

anaphora

word or phrase that is repeated at the start of neighbouring clauses for emphatic effect

apostrophe

a direct address to a 3rd party to break up the narrative voice

asyndeton

lack of conjunctions in a list to give the description intensity

hyperbole

exaggeration used for literary effect

polysyndeton

the use of unnecessarily large number of conjunctions in a list to emphasise the number of things being listed

praeterito

saying you will not mention something and in doing so deliberately mentioning it and bringing it to mind

rhetorical question

a question to make a point- a question that expects no answer.

tricolon

a series of 3 clearly defined words, phrases or clauses in a sentence. An ascending tricolon is one in which each word, phrase or clause is successively more powerful