Der Satyr als Anwalt : Konkurrenz und Karriere auf dem Forum der Kaiserzeit

Kurzfassung/Abstract

The article demonstrates that the imperial authors’ complaint about the decline of eloquence is primarily rooted in the perception of Roman elites who faced greater competitive pressure from the lower social classes than their Republican predecessors. Various structural features of the Principate, which include the emperor’s influence on forensic speech, changes in patronage relations and the increasing importance of the legal profession, had altered the fabric of Roman society and prompted the growing appearance of freedmen as advocates who gradually replaced the patrons and orators of the Republic. It was above all the law courts that provided the lower classes with opportunities to circumvent traditional educational paths in order to pursue promising careers.