Everything about Philippic totally explained
A
philippic is a fiery, damning speech, or
tirade, delivered to condemn a particular political actor. The term originates with
Demosthenes, who delivered an attack on
Philip II of Macedon in the
4th century BC.
Cicero consciously modeled his own attacks on
Mark Antony, in
44 BC and
43 BC, on Demosthenes's speeches, and if the correspondence between M. Brutus and Cicero is genuine [adBrut. ii 3.4, ii 4.2], at least the fifth and seventh speeches were referred to as the Philippics in Cicero's time. They were also called the Antonian Orations by Aulus Gellius.
It is ironic that they were named after a series of speeches that failed to effectively warn the Greeks of the danger of Philip of Macedon whose son,
Alexander the Great, went on to be one of the greatest conquerors of all time. After the death of
Caesar, Cicero privately expressed his regret that the murderers of Caesar hadn't included Antony in their plot, and he bent his efforts to the discrediting of Antony. Cicero even promoted illegal action, such as legitimatizing Octavian's private army. In all, Cicero delivered 14 Phillipics in less than two years - an energetic feat for a former
consul then in his 60s. Cicero's focus on Antony, however, would contribute to his downfall as he failed to recognize the threat of
Octavian and encouraged unlawful acts. Cicero's attacks on Antony were neither forgiven nor forgotten, with the result that he was subsequently proscribed and killed in 43 BC. His head and hands were publicly displayed in the
Roman Forum to discourage any who would oppose the new
Triumvirate of Octavian, Mark Antony and
Lepidus.
According to
Tacitus, the well-known Roman historian, this work, together with the
Pro Milone,
In Catilinam, and
In Verrem, made Cicero's name, and much of his political career sprang from the effect of these works. Others would have it that the
Pro Ligario, in which Cicero defends Ligarius before Caesar, was the vehicle of his renown.
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