Rome via Brooklyn

DOUBLE POST

Words: 771

Time: 4 minutes

Blog focus:

Focus your writing on just one of the many landmarks we saw. Try to connect what you read to what you saw.  What questions didn’t the books answer?  Was there something you learned from being present that you couldn’t have learned from a book or a classroom lecture?

This was an amazing and hot day! I really enjoyed 3 of the monuments that we saw. I liked the Rostra, Temple of Caesar, and Temple of Divus Antoninus Pius and Diva Faustina. I shall focus on the Rostra for this blog post. 

I really enjoyed the fact that this is where the greatest orators have given speeches and done what they do best. I kind of admire these people because they are able to express themselves in such a way that they garner followers and viewers. This is truly admirable. I have always thought of oratory skills as something laughable, until I picked up a Biography on Marcus Aurelius, written by Anthony Birley. This changed my view of oratory skills. They were and still are a necessity, especially for politicians and high-ranking individuals. It is said that two things consumed Marcus’ life: Philosophy and Oratory practice (emphasised during his early years of living). Fronto, a orator considered second to Cicero and Marcus’ mentor, was known to sit all day and think about what word should be used and when. This is SO SO SO interesting. Language for the orator is almost a gift sent to us by the divine. We are able to edit, define, and redefine definitions. This has affected me so much that I have started to stumble on my words when speaking, almost always thinking about what word I should place in a sentence and when. And if I do, further argue if that word was the BEST word to be used. 

The above is just a preface to how excited I was to see the Rostra! I even have a Cicero book from the 1700-1800’s written in Latin! Being where once people stood and listened to such a legend was an amazing experience. I was just in awe. Again, I really do admire people that have exceptional oratory skills. To imagine Cicero turning his back–I get to this later in this blog post–on the elites and facing the common people made me dare I say flustered. It filled me up with the confidence to go out and try to give an amazing performance during our group presentation. It was great! 

I really liked the fact that professor Yarrow gave us about the addressing of the common people. Walking around Rome now and seeing the divisions of old and new makes this whole place feel a bit off–by “off” is not the norm that I am used to. Also seeing the actual Roman forum in all its glory was also a bit alienating. I draw parallels to how the people of Rome watched as the orator gave his full attention to the elites but not the people. Cicero is suspected to be the first to reject this norm and face the people. This is both an inviting and communal act. The act of literally turning around is two fold: you turn your back on one group and face and invite another in. This is massive and someone can write a whole project on this! Cicero realized that it is the Roman people that matter and the elites were just a very small number of them. To address the people directly is nothing short of amazing! It signals I am here for you as well, not just them. 

As for a quote there is nothing directly that I could attach to the already written section of this blog post, so rather I introduce a quote that I found interesting about Cicero.

There is no doubt that Cicero is one of the most influential orators in the world, but even that could not save him from the Romans cruelty. As Peter Aicher says in his book Rome A Source-Guide to the Ancient City Alive: “When the head and hands of Cicero were brought to Rome…Anthony ordered them to be fastened over the ships’ beaks on the Rostra. (94) The previous quote was quoted from Plutarch Anthony. 

I found this quote very interesting, though disgusting. I can’t believe that someone who had owned the stage–Cicero–for so long and used his voice to fight back would be brutally murdered and then humiliated in the same place where he gave his speeches. This shows how cruel and frankly mean these Romans were!!

–Moussa Toni Cisse