Scholars Flashcards
(35 cards)
What did Erich S. Gruen say Cato was the defender of
Gruen argued Cato symbolized “the uncompromising defender of Republican virtues in the face of political decay.”
[Gruen, The Last Generation of the Roman Republic]
How does Kathryn Welch characterize Cato’s resistance to Caesar?
Welch highlights Cato’s “rigid moralism and unyielding opposition” as a defining trait of his political identity.
[Welch, Cato the Younger: The Last Republican]
What is H.H. Scullard’s view on Cato’s influence in the Senate?
Scullard emphasizes Cato’s role as the Senate’s moral conscience, often standing “alone against the tide of populism.”
[Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero]
How does Mary Beard interpret Cato’s legacy?
Beard notes Cato was idealized in later times as a “martyr for Republican liberty” despite his inflexibility contributing to conflict.
[Beard, SPQR]
What does Elizabeth Rawson say about Cato’s cultural impact?
Rawson sees Cato as a cultural symbol of “traditional Roman austerity” amid a changing political world.
[Rawson, Roman Culture and Society]
How does Adrian Goldsworthy describe Caesar’s leadership style?
Goldsworthy calls Caesar “a master of populism who skilfully balanced military success with political ambition.”
[Goldsworthy, Caesar: Life of a Colossus]
What does Christian Meier say about Caesar’s rise to power?
Meier argues Caesar’s career “marked the shift from Republican to autocratic rule.”
[Meier, Caesar]
What does Elizabeth Rawson say Caesars reforms marked
Rawson emphasizes that Caesar’s reforms “reflected a pragmatic approach to stabilizing a fractured Republic.”
[Rawson, Caesar: Civil War and Dictatorship]
What is the perspective of Mary Beard on Caesar’s relationship with the masses?
Beard highlights Caesar’s popularity as rooted in “his direct appeal to the Roman people, bypassing the Senate.”
[Beard, SPQR]
How does Ronald Syme say Caesar transformed
Syme sees Caesar as a “revolutionary whose actions irreversibly transformed Rome’s political landscape.”
[Syme, The Roman Revolution]
What does Erich S. Gruen say Pompey was good at navigating
Gruen views Pompey as a “politician skilled at navigating shifting alliances to maintain power.”
[Gruen, The Last Generation of the Roman Republic]
How does Miriam Griffin characterize Pompey’s military and political career?
Griffin notes Pompey combined “extraordinary military success with political ambition, though sometimes lacking consistent ideology.”
[Griffin, Pompey: The Roman Alexander]
What is Ronald Syme’s take on Pompey’s senatorial relations?
Syme describes Pompey as “ambivalent towards the Senate — at times its champion, at others a rival.”
[Syme, The Roman Revolution]
How does Susan Treggiari interpret Pompey’s reason for success
Treggiari suggests Pompey “represented the complexities of Roman aristocracy — military glory mixed with political pragmatism.”
[Treggiari, Roman Political Life]
What does Andrew Lintott say about Pompey and the first Triumvirate?
Lintott highlights Pompey’s role in the First Triumvirate as “a tactical partnership shaped more by convenience than loyalty.”
[Lintott, The Constitution of the Roman Republic]
What does Erich S. Gruen say the optimates were “defenders” of
Gruen defines the Optimates as “the conservative senatorial elite, defenders of aristocratic privilege.”
[Gruen, The Last Generation of the Roman Republic]
What does A.H. M. Jones say the optimates sought to ‘preserve’
Jones argues they sought to “preserve the Senate’s traditional powers against popular pressures.”
[Jones, The Roman Republic]
What is Ronald Syme’s interpretation of the Optimates?
Syme sees the Optimates as “a coalition that, while conservative, was not ideologically uniform.”
[Syme, The Roman Revolution]
What does Kathleen Welch say the optimates used senatorial control and legalism to do?
Welch suggests the Optimates used legalism and senatorial control to “counterbalance the rise of popular leaders.”
[Welch, The Roman Senate]
What is Andrew Lintott’s view on the Optimates’ stance on reforms?
Lintott argues that despite their efforts, Optimates “were often reactive rather than proactive in political reforms.”
[Lintott, The Constitution of the Roman Republic]
How does Erich S. Gruen define the Populares?
Gruen describes Populares as “politicians who used the popular assemblies and tribunes to challenge senatorial authority.”
[Gruen, The Last Generation of the Roman Republic]
What is Mary Beard’s view on the Populares’ political methods?
Beard highlights that Populares “relied on direct appeals to the people, sometimes bypassing constitutional norms.”
[Beard, SPQR]
How does Kathryn Welch explain the Populares’ appeal?
Welch says they “offered reform and redistribution, appealing to the masses against oligarchic control.”
[Welch, Cato the Younger: The Last Republican]
What does Ronald Syme say about the ideological divide between Populares and Optimates?
Syme sees the divide as “less about policy and more about power struggles between elites.”
[Syme, The Roman Revolution]
