Pro Cluentio

Pro Cluentio is a defense oration by Cicero, delivered in 66 BCE. It concerns a complex murder trial involving the orator's client, Sassius Cluentius, and his mother, who was accused of poisoning her husband. Cicero's defense strategy involved discrediting the prosecution's witnesses and evidence, famously boasting of "throwing dust in the jurymen's eyes".1

The case was highly contentious and involved intricate legal arguments and accusations of bribery. The oration highlights Cicero's rhetorical skill and his ability to navigate challenging legal and political landscapes in late Republican Rome. The primary antagonist in the broader political context of this period was Publius Clodius Pulcher, a disruptive politician and bitter enemy of Cicero, who was involved in various political schemes and conflicts during this era.12