Scholars Flashcards
How did Syme define the concept of amicitae
As “a weapon of politics”
What did Syme comment on the relationship between the general and the Legionaries.
“The general had to be a politician, for his legionaries were a host of clients, looking to their leader for spoil in war and estates in Italy when their campaigns were over”
What did Marin comment on the professional army in the Roman republic?
“The rise of professional armies was perhaps unavoidable, but more than that, the senate did not adequately recognise that without a state-sponsored army, it would fall to individual generals to provide for their troops, and ultimately reward them with booty and the possibility of land upon retirement.
How does Bradley define Pompey’s relationship with the Optimates.
“His(Pompey’s) career embodied everything that the Oligarchy opposed and yet they were responsible for granting him many of his exceptional appointments. He was a catalyst in the breakdown of the republic, and yet his friendship was eagerly sought by the conservative Cicero and he died in 48 BCE His whole career was a paradox.
What did Shotter comment on the Roman republic?
“The republic, Caesar is reported to have served, is a ‘mere name, without form and or substance’ this of course could have merely been the contemptuous remark that is often taken to have been, signalling that he felt free to do whatever he wished; equally, it might have meant that in his view there was nothing ‘sacred’ about the way that the government had been carried out in the old days; just as the republics institutions had evolved to meet changing needs in the past, so they should continue to do so in the present and in the future.”
What does Tempest think Cicero felt about Julius Caesar’s rose to dictator?
“ he (Cicero) did not hate the dictator as a man.But he did hate the fact that Caesar had no desire to restore the republic.”
What did Beard say on Caesar’s use of Celmentia?
“In many ways, celmentia was the political slogan of Caesar’s dictatorship. Yet it provoked as much opposition as gratitude, for the simple reason that, virtue though it may have been in some respects, it was an entirely monarchical one. Only within the power to do so can exercise mercy. Clementia, in other words, it was the antithesis of Republican Libertas. Cato was said to have killed himself to escape it.
