Abstract
This article proposes that in De Republica Cicero redefines the state by mythologizing the past. It suggests that Scipio's story of the foundation of the mixed constitution is a myth, exalting the wisdom of the founders as an example for their descendants. Through the use of dialogue, Cicero offers an insight into his creation of the myth by not only having Scipio present a highly selective account of the foundation, but also having another interlocutor, Laelius, raise an objection against the founders' alleged wisdom. The mythic quality of the narrative about the founders then paves the way for the dream of Scipio at the end of the dialogue. The dream advances Cicero's mythologizing of the past to a vision for the future, where the restoration of the state rests on the necessity of imitating the virtues of the ancestors.
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