Agency of the individual in the process of divination in Cicero's De divinatione Cover Image

Моћ појединца у остваривању прореченог у Цицероновом делу De divinatione
Agency of the individual in the process of divination in Cicero's De divinatione

Author(s): Marina Andrijašević, Marija Krečković Gavrilović
Subject(s): Ancient World, Philology
Published by: Филозофски факултет, Универзитет у Београду
Keywords: ancient divination; Marcus Tullius Cicero; De divinatione

Summary/Abstract: The subject of this paper is Cicero's treatise De divinatione, which will help us, through its numerous examples from the history of the Greek and Roman peoples, to see the cause-and-effect sequence of the crisis, divination and its overcoming, and the role of the individual in the mentioned sequence. In this more modern philosophical discourse with a religious theme, Cicero discusses divination in an argumentative manner, presenting conflicting views through his character and that of his brother Quintus. We are interested in the broader picture of the public opinion of the Romans about this skill, how much agency the individual who receives divination has on the outcome of what was prophesied, given that the tradition of making both public and personal decisions in accordance with auspices goes back to ab urbe condita. We will analyze the examples given to us by Quintus and Marco and determine what were the ways of transmission of divination from the gods to people; whether the communication was one-sided or not; and whether the intentions of the gods who send the divinations could be “divined” from them.

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 51
  • Page Range: 119-137
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: Serbian
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