Quaestio legitima et iudicium publicum. A legal analysis of Cicero’s Pro Archia
This talk will delve into the legal intricacies of Cicero’s speech in defense of Archias. First, I will discuss the procedural context of the speech and the role of all its main actors, such as the praetor, the jury and the advocates (the iudicium publicum). Subsequently, we will turn our attention to the legal issue itself (the quaestio legitima) and discuss what it means to be a Roman citizen, how citizenship is acquired and lost according to Roman law and how Cicero navigates these questions in his speech.