Cicero's Relationship with Pompey

66BC - Praetorship

-          Cicero speaks “pro lege Manilia” = for the law of Manilius

-          Gives Pompey extraordinary power against Mithridates

-          Maius imperium proconsulare , unprecedented, never been done before

-          Cicero speaks in favour because it starts their alliance/amicitia, clients of Pompey’s become available

-          Pompey is clearly the man for the job because Lucullus was incapable

-          Received opposition from Optimates (e.g. Hortensius, Catulus) afraid of Pompey having too much power

-          Speech made in the forum, clearly making their new friendship public and official

64BC - Canvassing for Consulship

-          Pompey is a populares, Cicero needs a balance between populares and optimates

-          If he appeared to support the populares, it was to gain Pompey’s support

-          Clearly sees him as a useful political ally or as difficult opposition if he got on Pompey’s bad side, would Cicero have been able to become consul in his suo anno without Pompey’s support? Cicero treads a fine line between Optimates and Populares to please everyone, if he just concentrated on pleasing the Optimates would he have ultimately become consul, or would a lack of populares support affect this?

-          So at this point Cicero making use of this new found friendship

63BC - Consulship

-          events during Cicero’s consulship will affect his future friendship with Pompey

-          The three main players for power: Caesar, Crassus, Pompey (future triumvirs)

-          Catiline is bankrolled but Crassus, who in turn is supported by Caesar

-          Therefore Cicero will be sceptical of the triumvirate in 59; Pompey sides with the two most powerful men who supported Catiline, the attempted assassin of Cicero

-          This will put doubts into their amicitia

-          But Cicero’s concordia ordinum would help to unite the ranks of Rome, intended for the equites and senators but perhaps also open to unity of reluctant Optimates and populares

-          Rullus’ Agrarian bill: Crassus and Caesar unite to divide public land, superficially seems to benefit the poorer citizens in the lower sector of society, but Cicero sees through the corrupt distribution of power (only voted by half the tribes and 10 people have too much power)

-          Crassus and Caesar are against Pompey at this point; therefore Cicero speaking against Rullus law is supporting Pompey. Perhaps makes Cicero seem selfish as denies the lower class cheap materials but in the long term this law would have been more problematic than the economic conditions in the first place

-          The populares (Caesar, Crassus) tried Rabirius for use of SCU final decree 37 years earlier to murder the tribune Saturninus, Pompey is  populares so is in support of the prosecution, Cicero defends Rabirius and sides with the Optimates, dangerous for his amicitia with Pompey as he actively opposes him

-          Overall the situation did not threaten Cicero or his relationship with Pompey, but did bring forwards the controversial issue of the…