Politics in the Rome of Cicero’s day

Abstract

Cicero is unique among the great men of Rome in antiquity because through him we gain an enormous reflection of the ancient Roman world, more especially the last century of the Roman Republic. The research seeks to assess and discuss salient factors that made Rome of Cicero’s day drift away “from the good old days” (i. e., the early Roman Republic) as well as abandon the ancestral ways, mos maiorum; in exchange for corrupt and violent politics. It also demonstrates how the Rome of Cicero’s day was governed by men who agreed far more than disagreed on the fundamental questions facing the ailing Republic. Inevitably, Cicero was the man who saw what had made his day become so different from the early Republic. In point of fact, an important feature during this turbulent period was the corrupt nature of Rome’s politicians. Political leaders were no more concerned about the safety and welfare of the citizens; rather they were filled with unbridled passion to exploit the Republic given the slightest opportunity open to them. The study ends with a concise discussion of how Cicero stood by the traditional Republican ideals, to defend the Republican government.