In Verrem: l’oratoria ciceroniana nel processo criminale romano

Abstract

In Verrem, a collection of speeches written by Marcus Tullius Cicero in 70 BCE, represents a fundamental source for understanding criminal procedural law in the late Republican era. The work was composed in occasion of the criminal trial for extortion and corruption brought by the people of Sicilian province against the island’s former praetor, Gaius Verres. It consists of the speeches that Cicero, as the prosecutor of the case, was supposed to deliver during the trial. The Verrine Orations, beyond their historical value in the context of Roman criminal trials and the political and social framework of the late Republic, stand out for their dramatic and rhetorical vigor, representing one of the finest examples of Cicero’s ars rhetorica. This article, after a brief introduction to Cicero work, aims firstly to analyze and extract the historical-legal elements present in the text. Afterwards, it will address the stylistic aspects of the work, focusing on specific passages that highlight the rhetorical strategies employed by the author to captivate and persuade his audience. The purpose is to understand how and to what extent Cicero’s dialectical skills influenced the trial’s outcome and which oratorical techniques he employed to be so persuasive and achieve such a resounding success.