Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on January 3, 106 BCE, in Arpinum, a hill town about 60 miles southeast of Rome in the Volscian mountains. His family belonged to the local aristocracy but were "new men" (novi homines) in Roman politics, meaning they had no ancestors who had held high office in Rome. His father, also named Marcus Tullius Cicero, was a wealthy landowner who suffered from poor health, while his mother Helvia came from a well-connected local family.

Cicero's father was determined to provide his sons with the finest education available. Along with his younger brother Quintus, Cicero was sent to Rome around 90 BCE to study rhetoric, philosophy, and law. He studied under some of the most distinguished teachers of his time, including the Greek rhetorician Apollonius Molon of Rhodes, who would later become his mentor. Cicero also studied philosophy under the Academic skeptic Philo of Larissa and the Stoic Diodotus, who lived in Cicero's house for many years and deeply influenced his philosophical development.

Cicero began his legal career in 81 BCE with his first case, defending Publius Quinctius in a civil suit. His breakthrough came in 80 BCE when he courageously defended Sextus Roscius of Ameria against a charge of parricide. This case was politically dangerous because it implicated powerful supporters of the dictator Sulla, but Cicero's brilliant defense not only won the case but established his reputation as Rome's most promising young orator.

After this success, Cicero wisely left Rome for two years (79-77 BCE) to study philosophy and rhetoric in Athens and Rhodes, both to avoid potential political retaliation and to perfect his oratorical skills. In Athens, he studied at the Academy and with various philosophical schools, while in Rhodes he worked again with Apollonius Molon, who helped him develop the more restrained and elegant style that would make him famous. When he returned to Rome in 77 BCE, he was ready to begin his political career.

Cicero's political ascent followed the traditional cursus honorum (course of offices). He was elected quaestor in 75 BCE and served in western Sicily, where his honest and effective administration earned him the gratitude of the Sicilians. This experience would later prove crucial when he prosecuted Gaius Verres for extortion in Sicily in 70 BCE, a case that further enhanced his reputation and effectively ended Verres's career.

He was elected praetor in 66 BCE and used this position to deliver his first major political speech, supporting Pompey's command against Mithridates VI of Pontus. His election as consul for 63 BCE was the culmination of his political ambitions and made him the first "new man" to reach the consulship in over thirty years. His consulship would be defined by his handling of the Catiline conspiracy, where his famous orations against Lucius Sergius Catilina saved the Roman Republic from what he portrayed as a dangerous revolutionary plot.

Cicero's triumph over Catiline made him powerful enemies, particularly Publius Clodius Pulcher, whom Cicero had antagonized by testifying against him in a religious scandal. When Clodius became tribune in 58 BCE, he passed a law targeting anyone who had executed Roman citizens without trial—a clear reference to Cicero's handling of the Catiline conspirators. Feeling abandoned by Pompey and Caesar, who refused to protect him, Cicero went into exile in March 58 BCE.

His exile was a period of deep personal anguish, as revealed in his letters to his friend Atticus. He traveled first to Thessalonica in Macedonia, then to Dyrrhachium in Illyricum. However, political circumstances changed when Pompey realized he needed Cicero's support. Through the efforts of the tribune Titus Annius Milo and with Pompey's backing, Cicero was recalled from exile in August 57 BCE. His return journey to Rome was triumphant, with crowds gathering to welcome him at every stop. He arrived in Rome on September 4, 57 BCE, to tremendous popular acclaim.

After Caesar's assassination on the Ides of March 44 BCE, Cicero saw an opportunity to restore the Roman Republic. He emerged from political retirement to oppose Mark Antony, whom he viewed as Caesar's would-be successor and a threat to republican government. Between September 44 and April 43 BCE, Cicero delivered fourteen speeches against Antony, known as the Philippics (named after Demosthenes's speeches against Philip of Macedon). These speeches were masterpieces of invective that portrayed Antony as a drunken, corrupt enemy of Rome.

Initially, Cicero's strategy seemed successful as he helped rally the Senate behind Octavian (the future Augustus), Caesar's heir, believing the young man could be used against Antony and then discarded. However, when Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate in November 43 BCE, Cicero's fate was sealed. Antony demanded Cicero's death as the price for the alliance. On December 7, 43 BCE, Cicero was caught by Antony's soldiers while trying to flee Italy. He was killed at the age of 63, and his head and hands were displayed on the rostra in the Roman Forum—a grim end for Rome's greatest orator.