|
Verres
Gaius Verres ( 114 – 43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence advocate could only recommend that Verres should leave the country. Cicero's prosecution speeches were later published as the In Verrem, ''Verrines''. Biography Gaius Verres was born around 114 BC. Public career During Sulla's civil war, Sulla's Civil War, Verres deserted the government faction of Gaius Marius the Younger, Gaius Marius and Gaius Papirius Carbo (consul 85 BC), Carbo and went over to Sulla. Sulla made him a present of land at Benevento, Beneventum and secured him against punishment for embezzlement. In 80 BC, Verres served on the staff of Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella (praetor 81 BC), Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella, governor of Cilicia (Roman province), Cilicia. According to Cicero, the governor and his subordinate both ruthlessly p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Verrem
"''In Verrem''" ("Against Verres") is a series of speeches made by Cicero in 70 BC, during the corruption and extortion trial of Gaius Verres, the former governor of Sicily. The speeches, which were concurrent with Cicero's election to the aedileship, paved the way for Cicero's public career. Background to the case During the civil war between the government and the outlaw Sulla (83–82 BC), Verres had been a junior officer in a Marian legion under Gaius Papirius Carbo. He saw the tides of the war shifting to Sulla, and so, Cicero alleged, went over to Sulla's lines bearing his legion's paychest. Afterwards, he was protected to a degree by Sulla, and allowed to indulge a skill for gubernatorial extortion in Cilicia under the province's governor, Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella in 81 BC. By 73 BC he had been placed as governor of Sicily, one of the key grain-producing provinces of the Republic (Egypt at this time was still an independent Hellenistic kingdom). In Sicily, Verres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire. His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy and politics. He is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists and the innovator of what became known as "Ciceronian rhetoric". Cicero was educated in Rome and in Greece. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63 BC. He greatly influenced both ancient and modern reception of the Latin language. A substantial part of his work has survived, and he was admired by both ancient and modern authors alike. Cicero adapted the arguments of the chief schools of Hellenistic philosophy in Latin and coined a large portion of Latin philosophical vocabulary via ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicilia (Roman Province)
Sicilia (; ; ) was the first province acquired by the Roman Republic, encompassing the island of Sicily. The western part of the island was brought under Roman control in 241 BC at the conclusion of the First Punic War with Carthage. A praetor was regularly assigned to the island from . The Kingdom of Syracuse under Hieron II remained an independent ally of Rome until its defeat in 212 BC during the Second Punic War. Thereafter the province included the whole of the island of Sicily, the island of Malta, and the smaller island groups (the Egadi islands, the Lipari islands, Ustica, and Pantelleria). During the Roman Republic, the island was the main source of grain for the city of Rome. Extraction was heavy, provoking armed uprisings known as the First and Second Servile Wars in the second century BC. In the first century, the Roman governor, Verres, was famously prosecuted for his corruption by Cicero. In the civil wars which brought the Roman Republic to an end, Sic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chelidon
Chelidon (fl. 74 BC) was a Roman courtesan, famed for her influence during the praetorship of Gaius Verres. She was a freedwoman and a successful professional high class courtesan. She was introduced to Gaius Verres by the courtesan Pippa and Tertia (actress), and became his mistress. She became known for the influence she wielded over public affairs in 74 BC, when her lover Gaius Verres served as urban praetor of Rome. Her influence was used against Gaius Verres by his enemies, who accused him of allowing her an excessive influence over state affairs. Allegedly, she acted as the political advisor of Gaius Verres, who allowed her to make decisions within civil cases and prepare laws and political reforms. Aware of her de facto position, she was courted by supplicants and political officials. She died between 73 and 71 BC, when Verres apparently received an inheritance from her. She is one of few free influential Roman courtesans mentioned by her contemporaries, others b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella (praetor 81 BC)
Gnaeus Cornelius Dolabella was a nobleman of ancient Rome who served as ''praetor urbanus'' in 81 BCE, when the cause of Publius Quintius was tried, the subject of Cicero's speech '' Pro Quinctio'', in which he charges Dolabella with having acted unjustly. The year after that, Dolabella had Cilicia for his province, with C. Malleolus as his ''quaestor'', and the notorious Gaius Verres as his '' legatus''. Dolabella not only tolerated the extortions and robberies committed by these two, but shared in their plunder. He was especially indulgent towards Verres, and, after Malleolus was murdered, he made Verres his '' proquaestor''. After his return to Rome, Dolabella was accused by Marcus Aemilius Scaurus of extortion in his province, and on that occasion Verres not only deserted his accomplice, but furnished the accuser with all the necessary information, and even spoke himself publicly against Dolabella. Many of the crimes committed by Verres himself were thus attributed to Dolabe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tertia (actress)
{{short description, Ancient Roman actress and dancer Tertia (died ''after'' 74 BC) was an ancient Roman actress and dancer. Tertia was born on Sicily as the daughter of the dancer-actor Isidorus. She is famous in history as the mistress of Verres, after he was appointed governor of Sicily in 74 BC. The relationship attracted a scandal and was brought up in court during the corruption trial against Verres. Her alleged influence and position is known from the speech ''Verrine Orations''. Verres caused a scandal by showing himself openly with Tertia in public, allowing her to act as his hostess during public functions and introducing her to local dignitaries and aristocracy, which was regarded as scandalous because of the low social status of stage artists. He also arranged a marriage between her and one of his clients. It was reportedly Tertia and a courtesan named Pippa who introduced Verres to the courtesan Chelidon, who were alleged to have great political influence upo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cathedral Of Syracuse
The Cathedral of Syracuse (''Duomo di Siracusa''), formally the (Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Holy Nativity of Mary), is an ancient Catholic church in Syracuse, Sicily, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Siracusa, Catholic Archdiocese of Siracusa. Its structure is originally a Greek Doric order, doric temple, and for this reason it is included in a UNESCO World Heritage Site designated in 2005. The cathedral stands in the city's historic core on Ortygia Island. History The origins of a temple on this site date to prehistory. The great Greek Temple of Athena (Syracuse), Temple of Athena was built in the 6th century BC [590–580 BCE] . The temple was a Doric columns, Doric edifice with six columns on the short sides and 14 on the long sides. Plato and Athenaeus mention the temple, and the looting of its ornament is mentioned by Cicero, in 70 BC, as one of the crimes of the governor Verres. Archeological site excavations by Paolo Orsi in 1907–1910 show the Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaius Papirius Carbo (consul 85 BC)
The gens Papiria was a patrician family at ancient Rome. According to tradition, the Papirii had already achieved prominence in the time of the kings, and the first Rex Sacrorum and Pontifex Maximus of the Republic were members of this gens. Lucius Papirius Mugillanus was the first of the Papirii to obtain the consulship in 444 BC. The patrician members of the family regularly occupied the highest offices of the Roman state down to the time of the Punic Wars. Their most famous member was Lucius Papirius Cursor, five times consul between 326 and 313 BC, who earned three triumphs during the Samnite Wars. Most of the Papirii who held office under the later Republic belonged to various plebeian branches of the family. Although the most illustrious Papirii flourished in the time of the Republic, a number of the family continued to hold high office during the first two centuries of the Empire.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, p. 118 (" Papiria Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthage, Carthaginians, and Roman Empire, Romans, among others. Crucifixion has been used in some countries as recently as the 21st century. The crucifixion of Jesus is central to Christianity and the Christian cross, cross (in Catholic Church, Roman Catholicism usually crucifix, depicted with Jesus nailed to it) is Christianity's preeminent religious symbol. His death is the most prominent example of crucifixion in history, which in turn has led many cultures in the modern world to associate the execution method closely with Jesus and with Christian spirituality. Other figures in Christianity are traditionally believed to have undergone crucifixion as well, including Saint Peter, who was crucified upside-down, and Andrew the Apostle, Saint Andr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4.7 million inhabitants, including 1.2 million in and around the capital city of Palermo, it is both the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea. Sicily is named after the Sicels, who inhabited the eastern part of the island during the Iron Age. Sicily has a rich and unique culture in #Art and architecture, arts, Music of Sicily, music, #Literature, literature, Sicilian cuisine, cuisine, and Sicilian Baroque, architecture. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, and one of the most active in the world, currently high. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate. It is separated from Calabria by the Strait of Messina. It is one of the five Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quintus Hortensius
Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114–50 BC) was a Roman lawyer, an orator and a statesman. Politically he belonged to the Optimates. He was consul in 69 BC alongside Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus. His nickname was ''Dionysia'', after a famous actress. After his retirement Hortensius took up fish-breeding as a hobby. Cicero spoke of him as a ''Piscinarius'' – 'fish fancier'. Biography At the age of nineteen he made his first speech at the bar and shortly afterwards successfully defended Nicomedes III or IV of Bithynia, one of Rome's dependants in the East, who had been deprived of his throne by his brother. From that time his reputation as an advocate was established. Through his marriage to Lutatia, daughter of Quintus Lutatius Catulus and Servilia, he was attached to the aristocratic party, the ''optimates''. During and after Lucius Cornelius Sulla's dictatorship the courts of law were under the control of the Senate, the judges themselves being senators. Endnote: In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
