Charles M. Odahl

This is a quick, easily read, telling of the Catilinarian Conspiracy, the attempt by Lucius Sergius Catilina and friends to overthrow Cicero's consulship by capturing the city of Rome in the year 63 B.C. The book uses a long list of ancient and modern texts as source material.

There is a small amount of controversy about whether this conspiracy actually existed as currently understood, or was actually exaggerated by Cicero in order to instill fear among Rome's citizens and thereby tighten the grip of his power. Odahl gives these questions no play at all, but rather advances Cicero's version of events with full benefit of the doubt.

Although the book is not unbiased, Odahl provides enough detail in clear language that the Catilinarian Conspiracy may be considered indispensable for understanding the chronology and political context of this important moment in ancient Roman history.… (altro)