Verres

What happens to art in time of war?  Who should own art, and what is its appropriate context? Should the victorious ever allow the defeated to keep their art?  These questions were posed by Cicero in speeches he gave in 70 BCE, when he prosecuted the Roman governor of Greek Sicily, Gaius Verres, for extortion during his time in office. Cicero’s  published speeches had a very long afterlife, affecting debates about collecting art in the 18th century, and reactions to the looting of art by Napoleon. The focus of this book is on those speeches by Cicero, and what they reveal about the context of Verres’ trial, Roman attitudes toward Greek art, and how the text illuminates the history of Greek Sicily. The subsequent impact of Cicero’s arguments on legal thinking about cultural property is also discussed, concluding with the decisions made by the Duke of Wellington after Waterloo in Paris in autumn, 1815.

Starting from an analysis of Verres' early cursus honorum, the paper focuses mainly on his role as propraetor and governor of Sicily between 73 and 71BC. There, when he was in charge, according to Cicero's In Verrem, he committed the most atrocious crimes and intrigues. The most relevant of them is the crucifixion of Publius Gavius from Compsa, who repeatedly shouted he was a roman citizen before dying. The relevance of roman citizenship in the ancient world is then explored, with its prerogatives and benefits, such as the provocatio ad populum. Finally, a deep analysis of Verres' actions and the legal basis of his conduct are presented, trying to understand what could have brought to his condemnation in the concussion process before the jury.

Container and window glass from the Merovingian age is not
often found by archaeologists in Switzerland. All the more memorable
are the numerous fragments of drinking glass and serving
bowls, primarily of the sixth and seventh centuries, found in the
course of excavations at the early medieval church site Sogn
Murezi in Tomils (Canton of Grisons). They testify to the prosperity
of the former inhabitants and to the geographically extensive
reach of the early mediaeval province of Churrätien. They are
here presented in detail for the first time. A glass kiln, dating to
the same period, was found while conducting excavations in the
old town of Chur in 2012. The kiln gives an insight into the construction
of glass kilns and the production of glass in the
Merovingian age.

Hohl- und Fensterglas aus der Merowingerzeit werden in der
Schweiz nicht häufig von uns Archäologinnen und Archäologen
geborgen. Umso erfreulicher sind die zahlreichen Fragmente von
Trinkgläsern und Auftragsgeschirr hauptsächlich aus dem
6./7. Jahrhundert, welche bei den Ausgrabungsarbeiten zur frühmittelalterlichen
Kirchenanlage Sogn Murezi im bündnerischen
Tomils ans Tageslicht gefördert worden sind. Sie zeugen vom
Wohlstand der einstigen Bewohnerinnen und Bewohner und verdeutlichen
gleichzeitig die geografisch weitreichenden Beziehungen
des frühmittelalterlichen Churrätiens. Sie sollen hier erstmals
umfassend vorgelegt werden. In dieselbe Zeit datiert ein Glasofen,
welcher 2012 bei Ausgrabungsarbeiten in der Churer Altstadt
entdeckt worden ist. Der Artikel beleuchtet in diesem
Zusammenhang die Konstruktionsweise der Glasöfen und die
Herstellung von Glasprodukten in der Merowingerzeit.

The position of a magistratus designatus may be described as ‘intermediate’ between that of a privatus and a magistratus. Designati could enjoy prominent political standing, but there is no secure evidence that they were able to use magisterial powers. This paper seeks to demonstrate in particular that designati could not issue edicts, despite the long-term scholarly tradition suggesting otherwise. This conclusion corresponds to the view that designati formally remained privati. Therefore, the examples of their active interference in political processes may be seen as a special case of private individuals’ occasional performance as autonomous political actors.

Mit der Lampsakos-Episode in der zweiten Verres-Rede (2, 1, 63-85) liefert Cicero ein Beispiel für Verres' Lasterhaftigkeit bereits zu einem frühen Zeitpunkt von dessen Karriere. Diese Episode enthält vermutlich einige historisch richtige Eckdaten, doch kann kein Zweifel daran bestehen, dass Cicero hier fiktivierend gestaltet : Zum einen übertreibt er wohl Verres' Beteiligung an der Sache, zum anderen passt er die Geschichte einer Erzähltradition an, in der vor ihm Herodot seine Perser verortet hat (Hdt. 5, 18-21). Wahrscheinlich spielt Cicero hier mit den Assoziationen seiner Zuhörer : Die wenigsten werden die Herodot-Stelle erkannt haben ; aber das Bild des Betrunkenen, der sich an der Frau/Tochter seines Gastgebers vergreift, dürfte bei jedem gebildeten Römer die Orgie der Kentauren bei der Hochzeit des Peirithoos evoziert haben.

This paper reconstructs the political context of the trial of C. Verres in 70 BC and the defence mounted by Verres’ advocate, Q. Hortensius. In 74 BC the city of Rome was in the midst of famine, and piracy and insurrection were rife throughout the Mediterranean. The senate sent Verres to Sicily with the task of securing Italy’s food supply; he also cooperated with M. Crassus in preventing Spartacus from crossing into Sicily, while his personal profiteering was in line with current practice. Hortensius defended Verres on those grounds. Verres was in fact successful enough to be retained in his province for three years; indeed, a slip by Cicero reveals Verres as a plausible candidate for the consulship of 68 BC, and other evidence points to connections with Caecilli Metelli and Crassus. The villain of the Verrines was thus neither typical nor unique, and better connected than has been realized previously. However, following embarrassments in 71, Verres was scapegoated by political enemies—above all Cn. Pompeius Magnus—in their promotion of a milder approach to empire. It was Pompeius who stood behind Cicero’s prosecution of Verres.