dr. Altay Coskun

Altay Coskun, How to Be a Citizen? An Exploration of Cicero’s Pro Archia Poeta

In most societies, immigrants are under stricter scrutiny when they wish to be(come) part of their host society. Beyond just meeting legal requirements, they are expected to be socially integrated, to embrace similar ethical values and ideological views as mainstream citizens, and to prove their practical use to the country. Holding citizenship is the safest protection of one’s status and rights, although economic or political instabilities may quickly change previously positive or neutral perspectives on immigrants and even lead to questioning the validity of a former franchise. In these regards, many parallels can be drawn between the Roman Republic and the nation states of the European Union. The case of the poet Archias from Antioch allows for exploring many similarities between then and now, such as the instrumentalization of citizenship in populist political discourse. Even more interesting will be an analysis of Cicero’s multilayered defense strategy, since he tried to persuade the judges ‘not only not to expel this Aulus Licinius (Archias) from the rank of citizens, because he is a citizen, but even to believe that he would have to be gained (as a citizen), if he were not (one already)’ (Pro Archia 4).