How Did Cicero's Letters Affect The Roman Elite

Rome was the superpower of the Mediterranean area and after many rebellions and political changes Rome needed a high-class system to help spread news. Political news and social gossip became equally important through the people's eyes. News in the city was distributed by either the town’s forum, dinner parties, or convivia. While news outside was spread through letters. Letters allowed important information to reach elite members of society while traveling or to keep personal communication. Since some of the letters were more casual, the roman elite included abbreviations and other quirky writing styles within. The majority of where historians find their information on the different tones is from a man named Cicero. Cicero wrote the most diverse

set of letters to be found since his tone changes to fit the context of the letter. Most of the Roman elite had scribes, who wrote and read aloud their messages. There were two different means of sending letters for short and long distance. Messages sent over short distance were written on wax tablets which look like today’s tablet computers. Messages over long distance were written on papyrus, due to it being lighter. Most Roman elites sent their messages through tabellarii.

Tabellarii were messengers who carried the letters directly to the recipient, however, they were expensive to use or hire. If a common person desired to send a letter, they would ask friends who are traveling to deliver the message. Even when the Roman empire established a postal service, the majority of people stuck with the previous two methods. Due to the ease of sending mail, for the elite, daily communication could be possible. On the other hand, like today, some people did not see the point of always wanting mail or constant communication. Once the letter reached its destination it would be read aloud, since letters were of public matter and meant to be shared from person to person, due to what was written. Because of the letters being semi-public, writer usually excluded anything that would be politically dangerous to their careers. Copying letters were common since the material could be useful to others, and from this notion of sharing common knowledge the acta was formed. The acta was the roman equivalent to a newspaper. Originally formed by Julius Caesar to expose the senate and gain more power, it became a center for both political and personal

information. One copy would be posted in the Forum, and the scribes would come and make copies for sell or just record certain things for the elite to know. News from the acta became increasing popular throughout Rome, which allowed everyone to know and make comments on current issues and events.

Unfortunately, there is no surviving copy if the acta, so historians must make do with the comments of the citizens. Along with letters, books were ways of spreading information. Authors did not care for the sales of the books but wanted people to make many copies so their book could be spread throughout Rome. Books were scrolls that could have gone on for thirty-three feet, and handwritten by the author then rewritten to look nicer by librarius. Authors tried to not let their writings get to the public before being certain it is ready. In the event the book is published early, the author cannot change it easily since it is being read by large amounts of people. Reputation was very important to authors, and so they dedicated it to certain people they thought could expand the popularity of the book. Also, ways to expand a book's popularity was to either host a dinner party or attend a recitatio. Both situations allowed the book to be read to a crowd to generate more interest in the book. Since common people could not afford to send letters or buy books, they way to communicate was through graffiti. The Roman graffiti wasn’t defacing anything but allowing citizens to express views and easily

communicate. Christaintainy was a shifting point in Roman social media. It was the first major religion to be started by letters, most of which were written by Paul. The letters and the system of copying allowed the religion to be quickly spread. Letters carried important information from church to church. And lastly, with the rise of Christianity, the type of writing changed from scrolls to codices, which are like modern day books. This change was due to the new ideas against the old Roman styles, as they were slowly evolving to be better.