Non solum domo/ sed tota urbe careo: between the place’s deprivation and the restitutio in De domo sua

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse the rhetorical means displayed by Marcus Tullius Cicero in the De domo sua in order to reverse the confiscation of his domus and nuance the religious conflict caused by the consecration of a statue to Libertas instead of the house. Triggered by this issue, the orator employs an argumentative strategy that establishes the restitution of the domus as a matter of state, in which intervene the legal, religious and family spheres. The association between the confiscated domus palatina and the Arpinate’s identity allows the representation of the conflict between the public and the private.