Cicero Panegyrist. Points of (Dis)similarities between the «Post reditum in senatu» and «Pro Marcello»

Abstract

This paper examines similarities and differences between Cicero’s speeches Post reditum in senatu and Pro Marcello. In spite of formal similarities of context (senatorial oratory), genre and style (epideictic) and themes (thanksgiving and praise for the restitutio and practice of beneficium), these two speeches are characterized by deep dissimilarities due to the different historical and political background in which they were delivered. In particular, the analysis focuses on the epideictic aspects and strategies of the two orations and examines the development of praise in the period of the late Republic. Moreover, it highlights how themes and reasonings of the post reditum rhetoric are variously developed in Caesarian speeches.