It's the entrance onants on History Hit.

I'm Tristan Hughes, your host.

And in today's episode,

what we are talking about arguably the most famous orator of ancient history,

Marcus Tullius Cicero, who rose to prominence in the first century

BC and was a major figure during the final years of the Roman Republic.

Now we are fortunate today to have so many of Cicero's speeches and letters surviving.

He is an invaluable source for this turbulent period in Roman history, a time of famous names such

as Sulla, Krasus, Pompey, and of course Julius

Caesar.

Joining me to give a masterclass in Cicero's story, his rise to power, his interactions with those well-known names as well as a

detailed rundown of an extraordinary coup d'etat called the Catalan conspiracy

while I was delighted to interview Dr. Henriette van de Blom from the University of Burma.

Now I was so grateful for Henriette taking the time out of a busy schedule to do this interview and I really do hope you enjoy.

So without further ado, is Henriette, it is wonderful to have you on the podcast today. Thanks for having me, Tristan.

You're more than welcome and to talk about Cicero.

In the field of not just Roman oratory, but ancient oratory,

this man, he almost seems to elevate himself to be above all the others.

He is this man when you think of oratory, you come to this man of Cicero.

Absolutely right, and it's partly to do with the way he positioned himself but it was not just his own doing it was also later generations and the ways in which his speeches and his other works were received by later generations all the way up to today.

But you're right, he's towering there.

Well, we've got 40 minutes, we've got precious time and we're going to see how much of Cicero's life we can get through,

...