📚 Topic 6: The Fall of the Republic⏱️ 20 min📜 Primary Sources
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to analyse Cicero's rhetorical strategies in the Philippics, understand his political aims after Caesar's assassination, and evaluate his correspondence with provincial governors as evidence of Republican political manoeuvring.
📜 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
Why Cicero chose to attack Mark Antony through public oratory
The rhetorical strategies employed in the Philippics
How Cicero attempted to coordinate Republican resistance through his letters
Why his political calculations ultimately proved fatal
Cicero's Return to Politics
Cicero returned to active politics with renewed vigour after Caesar's death. Believing the Republic could still be saved, he threw himself into attacking Mark Antony, whom he saw as the principal threat. His weapon was rhetoric: a series of speeches known as the Philippics, delivered in the Senate between September 44 and April 43 BC.
🏛️ The Political Situation
After Caesar's assassination on the Ides of March 44 BC:
The conspirators failed to seize control
Antony secured Caesar's papers and treasury
Octavian arrived in Rome claiming Caesar's legacy
The Senate was caught between factions
💡 Cicero's Calculation
Cicero believed he could:
Rally the Senate against Antony
Use Octavian as a tool of the Senate
Restore traditional Republican government
Position himself as the Republic's champion
⚠️ Key Context: The name "Philippics" deliberately echoes Demosthenes' famous speeches against Philip of Macedon in the 4th century BC. By choosing this title, Cicero positioned himself as a defender of liberty against tyranny, just as Demosthenes had been.
Named after Demosthenes' speeches against Philip of Macedon, Cicero's 14 Philippics were fierce attacks on Antony's character, motives, and actions. They represent some of the most powerful political invective in Roman literature.
🎯 CICERO'S OBJECTIVES
Accused Antony of tyrannical ambitions and undermining Caesar's legitimate reforms
Portrayed Antony as a drunken thug, corrupt, self-serving, and dangerous
Appealed to Octavian and the Senate to defend the Republic
Rallied the Senate to declare Antony a public enemy (hostis)
Through the Philippics, Cicero aimed to rally the Senate to act against Antony and support what he believed would be a Republican resurgence, guided by the Senate, and perhaps led by Octavian.
In what assembly of the Roman people, in what meeting, in what dinner party even of those people who used to wish you well, have you ever seen Mark Antony sober? ... He vomits over the whole tribunal!
Cicero's attacks on Antony were not merely political but deeply personal:
Depicted Antony as morally corrupt
Contrasted him with traditional Roman virtues
Used classic invective rhetoric
Designed to destroy Antony's reputation
⚠️ Political Miscalculation
Cicero's strategy rested on flawed assumptions:
That Octavian would remain a Senate tool
That the Senate could still act decisively
That oratory could defeat armies
That Antony would be isolated
☠️ Fatal Miscalculation: Cicero famously said of Octavian that the young man should be "praised, honoured, and removed" (laudandum, ornandum, tollendum). This proved to be a catastrophic misjudgement—Octavian was building his own power base, not serving the Senate's interests.
The Art of Invective
The Philippics showcase Cicero's mastery of Roman rhetorical invective—the art of personal attack designed to destroy an opponent's public standing.
🍷 Moral Attacks
Accusations of drunkenness
Sexual impropriety
Greed and corruption
Cowardice in battle
🏛️ Political Charges
Tyrannical ambitions
Forging Caesar's decrees
Illegally seizing power
Threatening civil war
📜 Rhetorical Techniques
Vivid imagery and disgust
Appeals to tradition
Contrast with Republican heroes
Emotional manipulation
💡 Oratorical Insight: Cicero's invective follows established Roman conventions. Such personal attacks were expected in political rhetoric and should be read as rhetorical strategy rather than factual reporting. However, the vividness of his language made these accusations memorable and damaging.
You took up the garb of a man when you immediately became a woman. At first you were a common prostitute; the price of your shame was fixed—and not a small one either.
— Cicero, Philippic 2.44 (attacking Antony's early life)
Assessment Note
The Philippics are excellent sources for understanding Republican ideology and the rhetoric of political crisis. However, they must be read critically as highly partisan documents designed to persuade rather than provide balanced accounts. The exaggerations and fabrications are part of the rhetorical strategy.
Letters to Trebonius and Plancus
Cicero's correspondence during this time shows his intense political scheming. In letters to Trebonius and Plancus, two key players in the provinces, he urged coordinated action to oppose Antony.
⚔️ Gaius Trebonius
Position: Governor of Asia
Background: One of the conspirators against Caesar
Cicero wrote seeking support for the Republican cause
Attempted to coordinate against Antony's forces
Killed by Dolabella in early 43 BC
His brutal death shocked even hardened Romans.
🏛️ Lucius Munatius Plancus
Position: Governor of Transalpine Gaul
Background: Commanded significant military forces
Cicero's letters reveal attempts to secure his loyalty
Plancus proved to be a political weathervane
Eventually sided with Antony
His shifting allegiance exemplified the era's uncertainty.
I beg and beseech you to give all your thought, all your care, all your zeal to the preservation of the Republic... The Senate is the champion of the state.
— Cicero, Letters to Friends (to a provincial governor)
⚠️ The Reality: Cicero's optimism often seemed out of step with the realities on the ground. Octavian was clearly building a personal power base, and the Senate remained divided. The letters reveal a man desperately trying to coordinate resistance while the political ground shifted beneath his feet.
The Value of Cicero's Letters
📚 AS HISTORICAL SOURCES
Cicero's letters provide invaluable insight into the day-to-day political manoeuvring of the late Republic:
Immediacy: Written in the moment, without hindsight
Candour: More honest than published speeches
Network: Reveal the web of political connections
Emotion: Show the anxiety and hope of the participants
Caveat: They still reflect Cicero's own biases and limited information. He often misjudged situations and overestimated his influence.
💡 Source Value: Unlike the polished Philippics, Cicero's letters offer more candid assessments of the political situation. They reveal his private doubts alongside his public confidence, making them essential sources for understanding this period.
The Tragic End
Cicero's campaign against Antony would ultimately cost him his life. When Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate in late 43 BC, they drew up proscription lists of their enemies. Cicero was high on Antony's list.
☠️ The Proscriptions: The Second Triumvirate's proscriptions were a brutal purge. Each triumvir sacrificed his own allies to satisfy the others' vengeance. Octavian surrendered Cicero to Antony's hatred—despite everything Cicero had done to support him.
⚰️ CICERO'S DEATH - 7 DECEMBER 43 BC
Despite attempts to flee by sea, Cicero was caught near Formiae:
He was carried in a litter when soldiers caught up with him
He stretched out his neck from the litter, accepting his fate
The centurion Herennius struck off his head
His hands were also cut off—the hands that wrote the Philippics
His head and hands were displayed on the Rostra in the Forum—the very platform from which he had delivered so many famous speeches.
Fulvia took the head into her hands and, after abusing it and spitting on it, set it on her knees, opened the mouth, and pulled out the tongue, which she pierced with the pins she used for her hair.
— Dio Cassius, Roman History (describing Antony's wife's revenge)
It was a brutal end for the Republic's greatest orator and a symbol of how completely the old political order had collapsed. The man who had lived by words died because of them.
Historical Significance
Cicero's death marked the effective end of the Roman Republic as a system where oratory and persuasion could influence political outcomes. The future would belong to those who commanded legions, not those who commanded words. Yet his writings survived to become foundational texts of Western political thought.
Exit Questions
Test your understanding of Cicero's Philippics and his final political campaign.
Question 1 of 5
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Key Takeaways
📝 SUMMARY
The Philippics were 14 speeches attacking Mark Antony, modelled on Demosthenes' attacks on Philip of Macedon
Cicero used invective rhetoric—personal attacks on character, morality, and ambition—to destroy Antony's reputation
His letters to provincial governors reveal desperate attempts to coordinate Republican resistance
Cicero fatally miscalculated Octavian's ambitions, believing he could be controlled by the Senate
When the Second Triumvirate was formed, Cicero was proscribed and killed on 7 December 43 BC
His death symbolised the end of the Republic as a system where words could defeat swords