Religio e identidad romana en De legibus 2.19-22

Abstract

In this paper religious norms enunciated in Cicero’s De legibus 2.19-22 are examined in relation to the conflict that the author had with Publius Clodius Pulcher in the previous decade. That controversy dated back to the de incest trial in which Cicero declared against the tribune regarding his irruption in the feminine rituals of the Bona Dea in 62 bc and lasted until Clodius’ death in 52 bc. The purpose of this paper is to prove that the rules of Leg. 2.19-22 are, to a large extent, Cicero’s answers to the religious aspects of that long debate. In order to achieve it, I will compare and contrast the norms in Leg. 2.19-22 with the considerations on religious matters raised in Cicero’s post reditum speeches.