OCR GCSE Classical Civilisation · J199
Paper 2
Revise: Roman Social, Legal, and Lyric SourcesCicero then asks whether a young man involved with such a woman should be called an adulterer or merely a lover. His argument creates a sexual double standard: the woman’s alleged behaviour makes her shameful, while the man’s involvement becomes an understandable attempt to satisfy desire. This is Cicero’s strategy, not an impartial judgement that the reader must accept.