Sicilian Landscape As Contested Space in the First Century BC: Three Case Studies
Sicilian Landscape as Contested Space in the First Century BC: Three Case Studies Dustin Leigh McKenzie BA (Hons), Dip. Lang. A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2018 School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry ii Abstract Sicily was made the first overseas Roman province between 241 and 212 BC, and became known as the ‘bread-basket’ of the Republic due to the island’s famously fertile farmlands. The island, with its history of pre-Roman conflict, second century slave revolts, and use as a military stronghold in the civil wars of the first century, never dissociated itself from conflict. As such, its construction as a ‘contested space’ was popular in the literature of first-century Rome, employed as a symptomatic topos of the state of Rome – the closer Roman Sicily resembled its pre- annexation state, the greater the perceived threat to the Republic, and vice-versa. This construction of Sicily and its landscape was employed by authors such as Cicero, Diodorus Siculus, and Virgil to great effect, as they engaged with, reinforced, or challenged the major contemporary discourses of imperialism, the impact of civil war, and food security. Cicero’s In Verrem presents its audience with a Sicily that has been purposely constructed to deliver the most damning image of Verres, the infamously corrupt governor of Sicily from 73-71, the most sympathetic and familiar image of the Sicilians, presented as virtuous and stoic farmers, and a Sicily that has been reduced to a war-torn desert under Verres’ rule. Through his construction of Sicily as contested space, Cicero secured his win against Verres in court and demonstrated to his audiences the danger Verres’ actions presented Rome, threatening the stability of the relationship between Sicily and Rome.
[Show full text]