Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2012

Comments

Initially published in American Journal of Philology, Fall 2012, volume 133, number 3, p.477-520.

© 2012 Johns Hopkins University Press

DOI: 10.1353/ajp.2012.0029

http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/ajp.2012.0029

Abstract

This article discusses Cassius Dio's political thought in his Agrippa-Maecenas debate (52.2-40) through the use of a form of content analysis developed by political scientists called "operational code analysis." It offers a description of operational code analysis, which demonstrates the value of this method to the debate. It then presents an examination of Dio's operational code, from which one can glean his philosophical and instrumental views on politics. It argues, inter alia, that the Agrippa address is based on the same epistemological foundations as the Maecenean corollary. Further, the article stresses that the Agrippa oration remains consistent with views Dio expresses elsewhere in his history. This suggests that scholars should not discount the efficacy of the Agrippa oration, despite its utopian character.

1

Download

Share

COinS
 

The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.