Cicero, Marucs Tullius

Born: 106-01-03 BCE

Died: 43-12-07 BCE

Roman lawyer, orator, philosopher, statesman, and writer who played a pivotal role in Roman political, intellectual, and cultural life. In 63 BCE, Cicero became consul of the Roman Republic. During his tenure, he suppressed a conspiracy led by Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline) to assassinate him and overthrow the Roman Republic. In 60 BCE, Julius Caesar invited him to become part of what would become the First Triumvirate, but Cicero declined, fearing it would undermine the Republic. Two years later, he was exiled for his role in suppressing the Catiline Conspiracy. The next few years witnessed civil war and the dictatorship of Caesar, which Cicero tacitly accepted, hoping that Caesar would revive the Republic. After Caesar's death, Cicero and Mark Antony became enemies in the ensuing power struggle, with Cicero attacking Antony in a series of speeches. The Second Triumvirate proscribed Cicero, and soldiers acting on its behalf assassinated Cicero in 43 BCE as he left his villa in Formiae (Formia).

Cicero's speeches and writing had a powerful influence on the Latin language, and his style influenced European literature through the 19th Century. Rediscovery of his letters and writings in the 14th century helped to initiate the Renaissance, and played a foundational role in the writings of John Locke, Edmund Burke, David Hume, and other 18th-century Enlightenment thinkers.

Anthony Everitt, Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician (New York: Ranson House Trade Paperbacks, 2003).