UNDERSTANDING THE PAST THROUGH THE PRESENT: THE CASE OF GAIUS SCRIBONIUS CURIO
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14795/jaha.12.1.2025.1209Keywords:
Cicero, Gaius Scribonius Curio, presentism, fall of the Roman Republic, Roman Republican politicsAbstract
This article argues that the parallels between the last years of the Roman Republic and contemporary society can help us to better understand the past. Taking an explicitly presentist approach to history, it takes the difficulties that modern politicians and authors writing about politics have in understanding the behaviour of their allies and opponents as a starting point, and claims that ancient authors will have encountered the same problems. Modern authors, it seems, often describe the actions and intentions of opponents based on their own hopes and expectations. Taking Cicero’s writing about Gaius Scribonius Curio as a case study, the article suggests that similar emotions may well have distorted Cicero’s interpretation of Curio’s intentions and actions, taking away much of the evidentiary basis for a crucial moment in late-Republican history.
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