Literature and Persuasion in Cicero's Pro Archia

Abstract

Pro Archia has been described as undoubtedly the least typical forensic speech of Cicero. Cicero's client is not, as so often, a prominent Roman aristocrat accused of violence, bribery, or extortion, but a Syrian poet whose claim to Roman citizenship was disputed. This chapter reviews the historical circumstances of Archias' trial, and then discusses the speech itself and some of the issues it raises, especially that of why the encomium of literature is included, and how it contributes to the defence. The chapter examines the style used by Cicero in Pro Archia and asks what it was about this particular case that led him to adopt such a style. It argues that Pro Archia is an exercise in persuasion.