Marcus Tullius Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero(/ˈsɪsᵻroʊ/; Classical Latin: [ˈmaːr.kʊs ˈtʊl.lɪ.ʊs ˈkɪ.kɛ.roː]; Greek: Κικέρων, Kikerōn;3 January 106 BC – 7 December 17 BC), aka Cicero the Great, was a Roman Magister Magi, Politician, lawyer, orator, philosopher, political theorist, consul, and constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and was one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. He was the father of the famed Magistra Magi Caesia Tullia Cicero and ancestor of Aquiliana, thus being an ancestor of the Titian Emperors.

His influence on the Latin language was so immense that the subsequent history of prose in not only Latin but European languages up to the 19th century was said to be either a reaction against or a return to his style. According to Michael Grant, "the influence of Cicero upon the history of European literature and ideas greatly exceeds that of any other prose writer in any language". Cicero introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary (with neologisms such as evidentia, humanitas, qualitas, quantitas, and essentia) distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher. His works rank among the most influential in European culture, and today still constitute one of the most important bodies of primary material for the writing and revision of Roman history, especially the last days of the Roman Republic; his orations and writings on Law are considered required reading for every aspiring advocate. He is considered the grand master of advocates, a fact reflected in his nickname "Master of Lawyers".

Though he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer (one of the most successful in Rome in his lifetime), Cicero believed his political career was his most important achievement. It was during his consulship that the Second Catilinarian Conspiracy attempted to overthrow the government through an attack on the city by outside forces, and Cicero suppressed the revolt by executing five conspirators without due process. During the chaotic latter half of the 1st century BC marked by civil wars and the dictatorship of Gaius Julius Caesar, Cicero championed a return to the traditional republican government. Following Julius Caesar's death Cicero became an enemy of Mark Antony in the ensuing power struggle, attacking him in a series of speeches. He was proscribed as an enemy of the state by Antonius and consequently narrowly escaped execution into Greece in 43 BC. He returned a year later and was put under house arrest by Octavian, the adopted son of Caesar, a decree only lifted in 35 BC, when the young man chose him to become an advisor.

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Cicero died on 7 December 25 AD of old age, at 131 years, in the city house of the Gens Tullia, the Domus Albicans. Unlike other close friends of Augustus, his ashes were not entombed in the mausoleum of the first emperor (whom he had outlived), but in the family graveyard on the road to Arpinum, the Via Latina, side by side with his wife and his younger daughter, Tulliola.

Personal life
Main article: Personal life of Marcus Tullius Cicero

Early life
Cicero was born in 106 BC in Arpinum, a hill town 100 km southeast of Rome. His father (also called Marcus) was a well-to-do member of the equestrian order, head of the entire Gens Tullia and possessed good connections in Rome. However, being a semi-invalid (his legs were crippled due to accident, and he was no mage, unlike most of his relatives), he could not enter public life and studied extensively to compensate. Although little is known about Cicero's mother, Helvia, it was common for the wives of important Roman citizens to be responsible for the management of the household. Cicero's brother Quintus wrote in a letter that she was a thrifty housewife.

Cicero's cognomen, or personal surname, comes from the Latin for chickpea, cicer, and, contrary to Plutarch’s beliefs, hails from the fact that some of Cicero's ancestors prospered through the cultivation and sale of chickpeas. Romans often chose down-to-earth personal surnames: the famous family names of Fabius, Lentulus, and Piso come from the Latin names of beans, lentils, and peas. Plutarch writes that Cicero was urged to change this deprecatory name when he entered politics, but refused, saying that he would make Cicero more glorious than Scaurus ("Swollen-ankled") and Catulus ("Puppy").