Pro Cluentio

There is a list of general introduction works for Latin literature on the pre-university reading list. This page is designed to suggest reading to help you gain an understanding of Cicero the person, his times, and the Pro Cluentio itself. Material with an * means it is particularly recommended. 

Contents: 1. Cicero 2. Cicero's times 3. Pro Cluentio 4. Podcasts and Radio

1. Cicero

There are a great number of biographies of Cicero. Anthony Everitt, Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician is lengthy but easily digested. A more academic approach (but still recent) is Kathryn Tempest, Cicero: Politics and Persuasion in Ancient Rome. 

Cicero is one of a very few ancient figures whose personal thoughts we have down on paper at length. His letters can be tricky to read (e.g. lots of notes) but it's well worth trying to learn about Cicero from the horse's mouth. P.G. Walsh's translation of Selected Letters (Oxford World Classics) is a good starting point. 

The hipster-y series Ancient Wisdom for Modern Readers selects passages from ancient authors, with brief introductions to each section. To get an idea of what Cicero himself thought about the art of speaking, see How to Win an Argument: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Persuasion. 

2. Cicero's times

The Late Republic is perhaps the most exciting period of Roman history. There is an enormous range again of material out there to read. Good overviews are available in C. Steel, The End of the Roman Republic 146 - 44BC. Slightly older but more easily read is Beard and Crawford, Rome in the Late Republic.

If you want easier reading to gain a good 'feel' for the period (and interpretation of Cicero's character), try historical fiction such as Robert Harris' Cicero trilogy. 

To link with your study of Catullus, try the historicising approach of T. P. Wiseman, Catullus and His World*. 

3. Pro Cluentio 

It's a good idea to place the speech in the broader context of crime and punishment in ancient Rome. Jerry Toner's Infamy* and Emma Southon's A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum* are two recent, entertaining books written for a general audience. The latter discusses our case. 

Again, it's worth going back to the ancient material too. There is an Oxford World Classics translation of Selected Defence Speeches and an older Penguin translation of Cicero's speeches relating to murder, entitled Murder Trials. 

Scholarly literature is worth a look too. For example, G.S. Hoenigswald 'The Murder Charges in Cicero's Pro Cluentio' which suggests Cluentius might have been guilty. (If you have trouble getting access, speak to me). 

4. Podcasts and Radio

It is also a good idea to listen to the In Our Time Episode on Cicero. For a more amusing but still informative take, listen to Natalie Haynes. 

Catherine Steel in an episode of The Ancients on Cicero's rise from lawyer to statesman. 

Emma Southon mentioned above has a podcast episode on her murder book.