The Failure of Catiline’s Conspiracy
By Z. Yavetz
Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, Vol. 12, No. 4 (1963)
Introduction: The accepted version, among Catiline’s adversaries, of the failure of his conspiracy, was summarized in the epitome of Livy by a short and pointed sentence: “L. Catiline failed twice in the consular elections. He conspired with the praetor Lentulus, with Cethegus and many others, in order to assassinate the consul and the senators, to oppress the Republic and set fire to the city. An army was prepared in Etruria, but thanks to Cicero’s watchfulness the conspiracy was discovered.”
Copious literature, reflecting a variety of opposing views, has been written on this subject. Each approach finds some justification in the different sources which too are profuse. Catiline’s conspiracy has made its imprint on Western European literature, especially in drama. From Ben Jonson to Ibsen, Catiline has been alternately vilified and glorified.
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