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van der Blom, H. (2011) Pompey in the contio. Classical Quarterly, 61
(2). pp. 553-573. ISSN 0009-8388
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Deposited on: 7 December 2012
1
POMPEY IN THE CONTIO
Huius oratio ut semper gravis et grata in contionibus fuit – „his speech was serious and
pleasing, as it always is in such assemblies ...‟
1
Cicero‟s praise of Pompey‟s eloquence in the
contio as generally impressive should be read as part of his glorification of his most
prominent supporter in the attempts to recall Cicero from exile. Yet, it points to an aspect of
Pompey‟s political profile which is often overlooked, namely his oratorical performances and
their effect on his audience and his political career. His speeches delivered in the senate, the
courts, and in the popular assemblies (the contiones) are often mentioned in passing only.
However, they provide an important means to understanding Pompey‟s political strategy and
career as a top politician. His speeches delivered in the contio, in particular, provide a
coherent picture of a man consciously nurturing a relationship with the popular audience in
order to build and maintain a political career for himself. In this paper, I aim to analyse
Pompey‟s oratorical performances in the contio with a view to establish the effect of his
oratory on his audience and its implications for his political career.
2
1
Cic. Sest. 107 with transl. by R.A. Kaster, Cicero. Speech on behalf of Publius Sestius
(Oxford, 2006). Cicero‟s comment
refers to a contio on 9 or 10 July 57 B.C.
2
For the role of the contio in Roman politics, see, among others F.G.B. Millar, The Crowd in
Rome in the Late Republic (Ann Arbor, 1998); H. Mouritsen,
Plebs and Politics in the Late
Roman Republic (Cambridge, 2001); R. Morstein-Marx,
Mass Oratory and Political Power
in the Late Roman Republic (Cambridge, 2004); K.-J. Hölkeskamp, „Oratoris maxima scaena:
Reden vor dem Volk in der politischen Kultur der Republik‟, in M. Jehne (ed.), Demokratie
in Rom? Die Rolle des Volkes in der Politik der römischen Republik, Historia Einzelschrift 96
(Stuttgart, 1995), 11-49 = K.-J. Hölkeskamp, Senatus Populusque Romanus. Die politische
2
Pompey‟s oratorical skills are only rarely discussed in the ancient sources and modern
scholarship, partly as a result of the meagre and scattered nature of the evidence.
3
Indeed, we
have no secure verbatim quotations from Pompey‟s speeches. Yet, a close reading of
passages mentioning his eloquence or descriptions of specific performances in the contio in
particular can help us judge the effect of his oratory and thereby form an opinion on the role
of oratory in his political career. In the following discussion, general testimonia to Pompey‟s
oratory and evidence of specific occasions in which he spoke in the contio will be analysed in
order to build up a picture of his oratorical abilities and their possible impact on his
audience.
4
I shall not discuss all of Pompey‟s public speeches (which are listed in the
Appendix) but focus on the performances which help to form a picture of his oratory and its
reception in the popular assemblies.
Kultur der Republik—Dimensionen und Deutungen (Stuttgart, 2004), 219-56 with addenda;
K.-J. Hölkeskamp, „The Roman Republic: Government of the People, by the People, for the
People?‟, SCI 19 (2000), 203-23; J. Tan, „Contiones in the Age of Cicero‟, Classical
Antiquity 27 (2008), 163-201.
3
The topic is discussed briefly by G. Kennedy,
The Art of Rhetoric in the Roman World
(Princeton, 1972), 282 who is unenthusiastic about Pompey‟s oratorical skills and E.S.
Gruen, The Last Generation of the Roman Republic (Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1974), 62 who
is more positive.
4
The collection in E. Malcovati, Oratorum Romanorum Fragmenta Liberae Rei Publicae
(Torino, 1976
4
), 359-67 of testimonia and fragments (in her sense of the word) provides most
of the evidence, supplemented by other sources when relevant.