Das Problem der Parteinahme im Bürgerkrieg: Cicero und das Solonische Stasisgesetz

Abstract

This text examines how Cicero received and adapted the so-called Solonian law on stasis, a controversial Athenian rule which allegedly required citizens to choose sides during internal conflicts. Rather than attempting to reconstruct the original law, the study focuses on Cicero’s interpretation and transformation of it within the political crises of the late Roman Republic. Cicero explicitly referred to the law only once, in a letter to Atticus dated to 49 BCE, in which he acknowledged the norm but admitted that he wished to remain neutral in the civil war between Caesar and Pompey. However, he had already adapted the idea of the law repeatedly in his earlier works: in the speech Pro Rabirio, he depicted neutrality as dishonourable and asserted a moral obligation to join the ‚good‘ citizens against the ‚bad‘; whereas in the Verrines, he permitted neutrality in the specific instance of magistrates, who must prioritise their duties over factional loyalty. Throughout these texts, Cicero’s interpretation is influenced by his polarised anthropological and moral categories (the ‚good‘ versus the ‚bad‘) and his changing political roles. His varying adaptations reveal the complexity of choosing sides in a civil war, showing how moral norms, personal loyalties and political uncertainty can conflict during moments of political crisis.