Catiline

Barbara Levick is Emeritus Fellow and Tutor in Classics at St Hilda's College, University of Oxford, UK. An ancient historian, writer and broadcaster, her previous books include biographies of the Roman emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Vespasian, and of the Empresses Faustina I and II and Julia Domna.

• ChronologyPreface1: Prologue: An Italian city under Roman siege: Catiline, Pompey, and Cicero2: Rome after Sulla3: Politicians and their problems4: Catiline’s ‘First Conspiracy’ 5: The Catilinarian Conspiracy of 636: Aftermath: Cicero’s struggle for survival7: Historiography and villainyFurther ReadingIndex

This book is typical of works in several series for college students and educated lay readers that narrate exciting events from ancient history. L. Sergius Catilina, “Catiline,” failed as a candidate for the consulship against his political rival, the orator M. Tullius Cicero. Catiline thereupon was alleged to have conspired with disaffected peasants, ruined veterans, and ambitious young nobles to overthrow the Roman Republic in 63 BCE. This Catilinarian Conspiracy was uncovered and denounced by Cicero in his most famous orations. Levick (Oxford) concentrates on the specifics of the conspiracy known from Cicero’s orations and the moralizing monograph of Sallust, a partisan of Julius Caesar. The author sums up well the scholarly opinion on Cicero’s role, and whether Cicero exaggerated or even created the conspiracy for his own political ends. Cicero’s call for the execution of Catiline’s co-conspirators without trial forestalled a rebellion, but Cicero later paid politically for this decision. Levick offers far less analysis on how the events in 63 BCE led to the First Triumvirate, a turning point for the Republic. Her discussion on later perceptions of Catiline in the literary tradition is well done and should engage most readers. The bibliography is good. Students should read this in tandem with the works of Cicero and Sallust. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.