Marcus Tullius Cicero

Cicero, Marcus Tullius (106–43 B.C.), Roman orator, statesman, and philosopher. As consul (63 B.C.) he crushed the Catiline conspiracy. His refusal to submit to the First Triumvirate resulted in banishment in 58 B.C., but he was recalled the next year by Pompey, with whom he sided in the civil war. Cicero's tacit approval of Caesar's murder and his defense of the Republic against Mark Antony in his first and second Philippics led to his execution after Octavian took Rome. A master of Latin prose, his great works include personal letters and orations (57 extant).

See also: Rome, Ancient.