Character assassination in ancient Rome: Defamation in Cicero’s First Catilinarian Oration from a historical-psychological perspective

Abstract

Cicero’s Catilinarian Orations of 63 BCE are among the most exemplary pieces of damning rhetoric and defamation from all of antiquity. This paper analyzes the first of these famous speeches, using comparative methods to explore the perceptions of how Cicero commits character assassination on his opponent. For the modern observer, at least two general interconnected themes appeared in the speech. One refers to the emotional atmosphere of fear and anxiety Cicero is building in his audience. The other creates a cognitive dichotomy between “us” and “them”. Insights from psychology, history, and sociology can help us to critically connect antiquity to present times, examine how Cicero’s attacks against Catiline’s reputation worked, and why they were so psychologically effective