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The Trial of Verres 70 BC
- Who?
- Verres - The accused
- Hortensius - The defence
- Hortensius - The defence
- Sicily - The victims
- Cicero - The prosecutor
- Cicero - The prosecutor
- Verres - The accused
- Why?
- Verres had been accused of corruption
- The corruption got worse after his first
year, when his governorship of Sicily was
extended - as there was no one to replace
him due to the slave war with Spartacus +
the trouble in Spain
- Verres had been accused of corruption
- Before the trial
- During his farewell speech in Sicily at the
end of his queastorship Cicero promised to
be a patron of the Sicilian people himself
- After 3 years of suffering at the hands
of the corrupt governor Verres, they
called in the favour + Cicero obliged
- After 3 years of suffering at the hands
of the corrupt governor Verres, they
called in the favour + Cicero obliged
- Sthenius did his best to
expose Verres - the 2
men had initially been on
good terms
- However due to Sthenius's wealth
it was tradition for Verres to stay
with him when visiting the province
- When staying Verres stripped his
house of all his worldly possessions
- Sthenius bore the loss of his
personal possessions, but
prevented Verres from taking any
public treasures
- In revenge - Verres conspired with some of Sthenius'
enemies + guaranteeing them success in any legal
action against the man - he was charged with forging
an illegal document + fled to Rome in fear
- Verres pursued his vendetta - by
supporting a capital charge + pronouncing
him guilty, despite Sthenius not being in
Sicily to defend himself
- Cicero defended Sthentius - who was
allowed to stay in Rome due to the injustice
of the conviction - due to this more men
wanted remuneration for the losses they had
suffered under Verres
- The Sicilians turned to Cicero, who obliged
- The Sicilians turned to Cicero, who obliged
- Cicero defended Sthentius - who was
allowed to stay in Rome due to the injustice
of the conviction - due to this more men
wanted remuneration for the losses they had
suffered under Verres
- Verres pursued his vendetta - by
supporting a capital charge + pronouncing
him guilty, despite Sthenius not being in
Sicily to defend himself
- In revenge - Verres conspired with some of Sthenius'
enemies + guaranteeing them success in any legal
action against the man - he was charged with forging
an illegal document + fled to Rome in fear
- When staying Verres stripped his
house of all his worldly possessions
- Sthenius bore the loss of his
personal possessions, but
prevented Verres from taking any
public treasures
- However due to Sthenius's wealth
it was tradition for Verres to stay
with him when visiting the province
- Verres + Hortensius had tried to
sabotage the trial
- They were aware that if they could postpone trial
until the following year it would be much easier for
Verres to be acquitted - as Hortensius was hoping
for consulship + some of Verres' friends was
hoping for high power positions
- They created a new trial - against the ex
governor of Achaea - a case of provincial
mismanagement which required time abroad
- Cicero was given 110 days to collect evidence in Sicily - the
prosecutor the men had hired for the Achaea trial only asked
for 108 days - Cicero had to work extra fast + he did in 50 days
- Cicero was given 110 days to collect evidence in Sicily - the
prosecutor the men had hired for the Achaea trial only asked
for 108 days - Cicero had to work extra fast + he did in 50 days
- They created a new trial - against the ex
governor of Achaea - a case of provincial
mismanagement which required time abroad
- They were aware that if they could postpone trial
until the following year it would be much easier for
Verres to be acquitted - as Hortensius was hoping
for consulship + some of Verres' friends was
hoping for high power positions
- During his farewell speech in Sicily at the
end of his queastorship Cicero promised to
be a patron of the Sicilian people himself
- During the trial
- Due to the previous sabotage attempts +
the election going in the favour of Verres
Cicero had to act fast
- Cicero had to rush his speeches
- Cicero had to rush his speeches
- Cicero later said - within the first hour he
had cut short any hopes the defence still
had
- The second day they had given up +
the third Verres pretended to be ill
- The second day they had given up +
the third Verres pretended to be ill
- The trial lasted 9 days - at some point in the
middle Verres escaped into exile (with some of his
treasures)
- Due to the previous sabotage attempts +
the election going in the favour of Verres
Cicero had to act fast
- After the trial
- The Sicilians were happy with their compensation
- Cicero later published his full speeches
- Cicero always remained slightly distrustful of Hortensius
- The Sicilians were happy with their compensation
- Significance
- Large publicity due to it being a
high-profile prosecution
- Cicero had beaten another man to the prosecution
of Verres
- Demonstrated Cicero's wide range of oratorical skills
- Cicero was now considered the leading orator in Rome
- Large publicity due to it being a
high-profile prosecution
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