Cicero as the Saviour
From here, the people’s faith in the Roman Republic and Cicero soared. Cicero had saved his country from an imminent revolution, with the Catiline Conspiracies providing a high point of his political career.
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Upon the execution of the conspirators, Cicero was treated with the highest respect and admiration, as shown by Plutarch, a Greek biographer and historian in 75 ACE after his death, praises Cicero; “… the citizens no longer attending him with silence, but receiving him, as he passed, with acclamations and applauses, and saluting him as the saviour and founder of his country… Yet to Cicero alone they owed there safety and security.. for delivering them from so great and imminent a danger… to defeat the greatest of all conspiracies with so little disturbance, trouble, and commotion was very extraordinary.” (Plutarch, cited in Phillips, 1976) This was supported by H.H Schullard, who agrees that, “Cicero had clearly saved his country from revolution… genuine feelings of relief and gratitude prompted the hailing of Cicero in the senate as Parents Patride: his satisfaction was unbounded…” (Schullard, 1988).
Cicero's statues show is 'Saviour' status
Despite Cicero’s actions toward improving the Roman Republic and providing hope and support for there future, his actions did not last long and certainly did not prevent the fall of the republic. Even though for the moment the Senate’s actions and people’s hopes had aligned, the imminent future did not show the senators working so closely with the people which did allow for the fall of the republic.
To find out about Cicero's legacy following the Catiline Conspiracies, take a look here!
Sources
Murphy, J. J., Katula, R. A. & Hoppmann, M., 2014. A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric. New York: Routledge.
Phillips, E., 1976. Catiline's Conspiracy. Historia: Zeitschrift fur alte, 25(4), pp. 441-448.
Schullard, H., 1988. From the Gracchi to Nero. 5th ed. London: Routledge.
Phillips, E., 1976. Catiline's Conspiracy. Historia: Zeitschrift fur alte, 25(4), pp. 441-448.
Schullard, H., 1988. From the Gracchi to Nero. 5th ed. London: Routledge.