contio

contĭo (less correctly concĭo ), ōnis, f. [contr. from conventio, for which COVENTIO is written in S. C. Bacch.; v. conventio, and cf. Varr. L. L. 6, § 43 Müll.; Paul. ex Fest. p. 38, 4, and p. 113, 10 Müll.], a meeting, assembly that is called together by a magistrate or priest (cf.: contio significat conventum, non tamen alium quam eum qui a magistratu vel a sacerdote publico per praeconem convocatur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 38, 4; cf. contionor—In good prose).

I.

Prop.:

advocat contionem, habet orationem talem consul,

Cic. Sest. 12, 28; so,

advocare contionem,

id. Verr. 2, 3, 80, § 185; Sall. C. 57, 5; id. J. 33, 3; Liv. 8, 31, 1; Suet. Claud. 22 et saep.:

advocare contionem populi,

Sall. J. 84, 5:

militum,

Caes. B. C. 2, 32:

advocare populum in contionem,

Liv. 42, 33, 2:

ad contionem advocavit,

id. 4, 1, 6:

plebem ad contionem vocare,

id. 2, 2, 4; cf. Suet. Calig. 48:

me in vestram contionem evocaverunt,

Cic. Agr. 3, 4, 16:

convocatis ad contionem militibus,

Suet. Caes. 66:

contionem habere,

to hold a meeting, Liv. 29, 21, 7 (cf.:

contionem habere, II. infra): in contione dicere,

Cic. Or. 63, 213 sq.; of. id. ib. 50, 168; and id. de Or. 2, 59, 242:

in contionem populi prodire,

Nep. Them. 1, 3: quae ego de te in senatu egerim, quae in contionibus dixerim, Cic. Fam. 5, 2, 4; cf.

so in opp. to the Senate,

Tac. A. 4, 40 fin.:

laudare aliquem pro contione,

before the people, Sall. J. 8, 2; Liv. 7, 7, 3; 7, 10, 14 al.; Quint. 2, 4, 33; 4, 4, 8 al.:

nunc in mille curias contionesque dispersam et dissipatam esse rempublicam,

Liv. 2, 28, 4; 2, 23, 5:

contio conventusque,

Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 50, § 110:

contio, quae ex imperitissimis constat,

id. Lael. 25, 95:

togata et urbana,

Liv. 45, 37, 8:

turbulentae,

Quint. 5, 13, 39; cf.:

in illis fluctibus contionum,

id. 8, 6, 48; and:

contionum procellae,

id. 8, 6, 7:

stabant pro contione legiones destrictis gladiis,

in the manner of an assembly, Tac. A. 1, 44 Draeg. ad loc.—

II.

Meton., a discourse, oration before a public assembly:

legi contionem tuam,

Cic. Fam. 9, 14, 7; cf.:

audiri jam et legi novas contiones,

Tac. A. 5, 4 fin.:

habere contionem... quā in oratione,

Cic. Agr. 2, 1, 1; so,

contionis habendae potestas,

id. Fam. 5, 2, 7; Liv. 24, 22, 1:

contionem apud milites habuit,

Caes. B. C. 3, 73; so Liv. 44, 1, 9; cf. also id. 27, 13, 1; Caes. B. C. 2, 18:

habuit super eā re contionem,

Suet. Caes. 5:

in contione contra Catilinam,

Quint. 5, 11, 42:

funebres tristes atque summissae,

id. 11, 3, 153:

ut Cicero dicit contra contionem Metelli,

id. 9, 3, 50; cf. Gell. 18, 7, 7; and the few fragments of this oration of Cic. in Orell. IV. 2, p. 455 sq.; Quint. 12, 10, 70; cf. id. 3, 8, 65; 3, 8, 67.—Of the orations reported in a history:

ille (sc. Thucydides) contionibus melior, hic (sc. Herodotus) sermonibus,

Quint. 10, 1, 73; cf. id. 9, 4, 18; Plin. Ep. 1, 16, 4.—

B.

A place for speaking, a tribune, rostrum; mostly in the phrases in contionem ascendere or escendere:

cum magistratum inieris et in contionem ascenderis,

Cic. Fin. 2, 22, 74; id. Att. 4, 2, 3:

in contionem escendit,

Liv. 2, 7, 7 Weissenb. ad loc.; 3, 49, 4;

5, 50, 8: Perseus in contionem processit Philippum secum filium habens,

id. 44, 45, 8; cf.: contionem tria significare: locum suggestumque unde verba fierent,... coetum populi adsistentis, item orationem ipsam, Verr. Fl. ap. Gell. 18, 7, 7.