POMPEY IN THE CONTIO*

Cicero’s praise of Pompey’s eloquence in the contio as generally impressive should be read as part of his glorification of his most prominent supporter in the attempts to recall Cicero from exile. Yet, it points to an aspect of Pompey’s political profile that is often overlooked, namely his oratorical performances and their effect on his audience and his political career. His speeches delivered in the senate, the courts and the popular assemblies (the contiones) are often mentioned in passing only. However, they provide an important means to understanding Pompey’s political strategy and his career as a top politician. His speeches delivered in the contio, in particular, provide a coherent picture of a man consciously nurturing a relationship with the popular audience in order to build and maintain a political career for himself. In this article, I aim to analyse Pompey’s oratorical performances in the contio with a view to establishing the effect of his oratory on his audience and its implications for his political career.2 Pompey’s oratorical skills are only rarely discussed in the ancient sources and modern scholarship, partly as a result of the meagre and scattered nature of the evidence.3 Indeed, we have no secure verbatim quotations from Pompey’s speeches. Yet a close reading of passages mentioning his eloquence, or descriptions of specific performances in the contio in particular, can help us judge the effect of his