LATIN LITERATURE ΙΙ

This course aims to familiarize students with the concept of reconciliatio ("reconciliation") in letter writing during the age of Cicero. More specifically, it will examine Cicero's attempts at reconciliation and those of his contemporaries through the lens of ancient and contemporary theories of emotions, in order to determine what prompted a politician to reconcile with someone who had harmed him. The discussion in the course will focus on the various strategies of reconciliation in the 1st century BC, such as public support, the demonstration of love and devotion in letters, and the pretence that there was never any disagreement between them. Thus, the effectiveness of reconciliation methods in securing a long-term alliance or even the restoration of bonds of friendship will be explored.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

• distinguish the fundamental differences between contemporary perceptions of reconciliation and the practical application of reconciliatio in Rome during the 1st century BC.
• comprehend the essential elements of the evolution of the concept of reconciliation (διαλλαγή, διάλυσις) from Homer to Cicero, as well as the necessary conditions for the existence of reconciliatio in the later period of the so-called Roman Republic.
• understand the role of emotions in the process of reconciliation and in the preservation of amicitia ("friendship/alliance") among Romans who had come into conflict.
• differentiate the key methods of reconciliation employed by Roman politicians through letter writing to resolve their disputes with individuals they had come into conflict with.
• translate into correct Modern Greek discourse excerpts from the letters written or received by Cicero concerning reconciliation.

Week 1: Introduction to the concept of amicitia ("friendship/alliance") and clientela ("patronage") during the 1st century BC.

Week 2: Overview of the concept of reconciliation from Homer to modern times.

Week 3: Examination of Cicero’s letter to his political rival, Crassus (Fam. 5.8), in order to achieve a public reconciliation with him.

Week 4: Examination of excerpts from Cicero’s letters to Appius Claudius (Fam. 3.4, 3.6), the brother of Cicero's political enemy, Clodius Pulcher, whose actions led to Cicero's exile.

Week 5: Examination of excerpts from Cicero’s letters to Atticus (Att. 11.9, 11.13) that reveal the rupture of the bond between Cicero and his brother Quintus after the Battle of Pharsalus (August 48 BC).

Week 6: Examination of excerpts from Cicero’s letters to Atticus (Att. 15.4, 15.5) in which Cicero’s efforts to improve his relationship with his brother are attested.

Week 7: Examination of Cicero’s letter to Atticus (Att. 16.5), in which he indirectly attempts to reconcile with his nephew, Quintus Cicero.

Week 8: Examination of Cicero’s reconciliation with Dionysius, the freedman and tutor of Cicero’s son Marcus, as attested in excerpts from Cicero’s letters to Atticus (Att. 8.4, 8.10).

Week 9: Examination of Cicero’s attempts to reconcile with Pompey through his public speeches, as attested in his letter to Atticus (Att. 4.1).

Week 10: Analysis of the crisis in Cicero’s relationship with his intimate friend Atticus and his efforts to mend their relationship during Cicero’s exile, as seen in his letter to Atticus (Att. 3.15).

Week 11: Examination of Cicero’s letter of reconciliation to Dolabella (Fam. 9.14), the former husband of Cicero’s daughter Tullia, who appears to be responsible for her premature death (February 45 BC), in an attempt to improve their relations due to Dolabella's significant political power in 44 BC as consul.

Week 12: Examination of Cicero’s letter of reconciliation to Mark Antony (Att. 14.13B), the leader of Caesar’s supporters after the assassination of Caesar (March 44 BC).

Week 13: Discussion of the role of intermediaries in the reconciliation process in Cicero’s letters that have been examined. Examination of the roles that Pompey, Caesar, Atticus, and Cicero played as mediators.

Κοντονάσιος, Π. (2016), Η ρητορική των contiones του Κικέρωνα, Αθήνα.

Ντεληγιάννης, Ι. (2021), Μ. Τυλλίου Κικέρωνα. Λόγοι επ’ Απονοστήσει Ευχαριστήριοι ενώπιον της Συγκλήτου & προς τους Ρωμαίους πολίτες, Αθήνα.

Cerroni, U. (1972), Η πολιτική σκέψη: από τις απαρχές ως τις μέρες μας, Μετάφραση από τα ιταλικά: Μ. Λυκούδης, Ά. Παπαζήσης, Αθήνα. 320.01 CER

Garnsey, P. & Saller, R. (2003), Η ρωμαϊκή αυτοκρατορία: οικονομία, κοινωνία και πολιτισμός, μτφ. Ι. Αναστασιάδης, επιμ. Γ. Α. Σουρής, Ηράκλειο.

Rose, H. J. (1978), Ιστορία της λατινικής λογοτεχνίας, Mετάφραση Κ. Χ. Γρόλλιου, Αθήνα. 870.109 ROS

Gruber-Miller, J. (2009), “Exploring relationships: amicitia and familia in Cicero’s De Amicitia”, Classical World 103, 88-92.

Konstan, D. (1997), Friendship in the Classical World, Cambridge.

Hall, J. (2009), Politeness and Politics in Cicero’s Letters, New York.

Moloney, E. P. & Williams, M. S. (eds) (2017), Peace and Reconciliation in the Classical World, London & New York.

Morello, R. & A. Morrison, A. (eds) (2007), Ancient Letters: Classical and Late Antique Epistolography, Oxford.

Nicholson, J. (1994), “The delivery and confidentiality of Cicero’s letters”, Classical Journal 90, 33-63. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3297818

Volk, K. (2021), The Roman Republic of Letters: Scholarship, Philosophy, and Politics in the Age of Cicero and Caesar, Princeton.

White, P. (2010), Cicero in Letters: Epistolary Relations of the Late Republic, New York & Oxford.

Each class will take place in the form of both lectures and dialogues using the Herbartian approach and Socratic/maieutic methods. One week before each lecture, in addition to the texts under examination, tables with the basic vocabulary of the texts will be provided, allowing students to have their first contact with the texts and thus be better prepared for their interpretive and linguistic analysis.

At the end of each PowerPoint presentation, additional relevant bibliography will be provided for those who wish to delve deeper into a particular aspect of Cicero’s letters. To help students, word-for-word translations of the texts examined in the classroom will be provided in the PowerPoint files.

Starting from the second lesson and onwards, each lecture will commence with a recap in the form of questions to the students on the key points discussed in the previous lecture to reinforce the material covered.

Finally, the digital platform Padlet (https://padlet.com/) will be used, where students will have the opportunity to exchange opinions and notes on the letters discussed in the classroom.

Throughout the course, extensive use of PowerPoint presentations with the instructor’s notes and audiovisual material will be made for the discussion of images and for displaying maps and videos related to the examined text. To achieve a better understanding of the vocabulary of the texts studied in the classroom, online sources will be utilized, which provide information regarding the translation and declension of terms within a sentence.

Online sources:

Online access to Latin texts: https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/

Online access to Latin texts (with translations of ancient works into English): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/

Online dictionaries (with translations of Latin words into English): •http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=amo&la=la#lexicon •https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/amo#Latin

Abbreviations of scientific journals as well as of ancient authors and their works: Hornblower, S. & Spawforth, A. (2003)⁴, Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th Edition, Oxford. https://oxfordre.com/classics/page/3993

Additionally, email exchange will be used to communicate with students outside of the instructor’s office hours.

Written or oral examination.
Optionally, students will have the opportunity to present a paper on the topic of a reconciliation letter to or from Cicero that has not been discussed in the classroom and to analyze its content. The optional assignment will be added to the final grade of the course.