Last comes the raven. Valerius Maximus and the Death of Cicero

Authors

  • Mario Lentano Università di Siena

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13135/2532-5353/13926

Keywords:

Cicero, raven, sundial, omens, Valerius Maximus

Abstract

The article examines the account, found in several sources (Valerius Maximus, Plutarch, Appian, and the anonymous De viris illustribus urbis Romae), according to which Cicero’s death was foreshadowed by the appearance of one or more ravens. In particular, it focuses on the version of the account found in Valerius Maximus, in which the raven first removes the gnomon from a sundial, then seizes and holds the orator’s toga in its beak. The article offers an interpretation of this omen, through an examination of the existing literature on the subject and in light of the significance of the sundial in the Roman cultural imagination.

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Author Biography

Mario Lentano, Università di Siena

Mario Lentano è Professore ordinario di Lingua e letteratura latina all’Università di Siena e membro del Centro Antropologia e mondo antico. I suoi interessi di ricerca includono il teatro comico, la declamazione di scuola, le relazioni di parentela, con particolare riguardo ai rapporti padri-figli, il complesso di racconti sulla fondazione di Roma e l’età monarchica, la percezione del mondo vegetale nella cultura romana. La sua monografia più recente è Vissero i boschi un dì. La vita culturale degli alberi nella Roma antica (Carocci, Roma 2024).

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Published

2026-06-30

How to Cite

Lentano, M. (2026). Last comes the raven. Valerius Maximus and the Death of Cicero. Ciceroniana On Line, 10(1), 59–81. https://doi.org/10.13135/2532-5353/13926

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2026): CICERONIANA ON LINE 2026 X, 1

Section

Papers

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