Midterm take home exam topics, spring 2022

The Catalinarian Conspiracy of 63 BC and The Bona Dea Scandal of 62

REWRITE YOUR PAPER TO IMPROVE THE GRADE. READ PROF. RAUH’S COMMENTS CAREFULLY AND REVISE THE PAPER. SUBMIT THE REVISED PAPER BY MON. MAY 2. YOU ARE WELDOME TO CONSULT WITH PROF. RAUH DURING OFFICE HOURS OR BY APPT (rauhn@purdue.edu)

Here is a link to the passages displayed in class regarding paper topics 2 and 3.

Paper requirement for midterm take home exam; write a 5-page paper on one of the following questions. The paper should present an argument.

Paper should:

Ø State a Thesis

Ø Explain the Path – order the evidence you are going to present and list each section in order.

Ø Marshall and present the Evidence, Ordering it in a coherent manner, Documented with Primary Source Information (Cic. Cat. 23; Sall. Cat. 41). Each section should logically follow the preceding one.

Ø Summarize to show how the evidence you have presented supports your thesis.

Ø Give Bibliographical Citations (give URL of on line texts)

Ø You are welcome to consult any and all secondary scholarship on the matter, but papers without primary source documentation will receive NO credit. Build your argument from the available primary source texts; primarily these are Sallust, the Conspiracy of Cataline and Cicero, Catalinarian Orations (speeches 1 through 4)

Ø When using the on-line texts, use the search mode in your browser to find references to Catiline, Caesar, Crassus, Pompey, Cicero, dictatorship, C. Manlius, etc.

QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE CONSPIRACY OF CATALINE (WRITE ON ONE, AND ONE ONLY)

I. MOTIVES FOR THE CATALINARIAN CONSPIRACY. List the complaints which the conspirators had against Rome; that is, the reasons they give for forming a conspiracy. How did they view themselves and their enemies? Overall, how did the conspirators behave? You may discuss this issue from the perspective of one or more of the following elements: 1. Sullan veterans, 2. the urban mob, 3. Roman women (aristocratic and plebeian).

II. DYNASTIC BEHAVIOR IN THE CATILINARIAN CONSPIRACY. Discuss the conflicting roles which ONE of the following pairs of politicians played in the events surrounding the Catalinarian Conspiracy, as reported by Sallust, Cicero, and Plutarch: 2 Cataline and Pompey, b. Cicero and Crassus, c. Caesar and Cato. (In other words tell what each man was doing at the time of the conspiracy and discuss the nature of their involvement, for or against, and how they otherwise influenced the events (WRITE ON ONE PAIR ONLY)

III. Caesar’s Shenanigans. Describe Caesar’s role in this event. What was he up to? Was he involved or not? What were his objectives? Who were his allies? What were his strategy and his intentions? Put it in the context of his previous career and his political behavior through the time of the conspiracy.

THE BONA DEA SCANDAL OF 62 BC; Discuss the Rumors behind the Bona Dea Scandal from the perspective of Caesar’s Mother (Aurelia), Sister (Julia), Wife (Pompeia), Cicero’s wife Terentia, OR P. Clodius and his sister Clodia, the mistress of Catullus. Click on the link above to obtain background information.

ASSIGNED READINGS FOR THE PAPER (THESE ARE AVAILABLE ON LINE)

Sallust, War with Cataline

Gelzer, Caesar, 35-60. Class Notes for the 60s; Notes on the Conspiracy

Attalus OnLine texts (CLICK ON YEARS 65-63 BC)

Sallust, The Conspiracy of Cataline, entire.

Plutarch, Cicero, 9-23; Crassus, 13; Pompey. 42-46; Plut Caesar  . 

Cicero, The Catalinarian Orations, entire.

Plutarch, Life of Cato the Younger has useful material

likewise, Suetonius' Live of Caesar