Cicero
Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman lawyer, orator, and statesman. He was elected consul in 63, when he defeated a revolution led by Catiline. Once the emergency was over his supporters deserted him: he was later exiled for executing the rebels without trial. He returned in 57 but retired from public life during Caesar’s dictatorship. After Caesar’s death he published the Philippics, a series of speeches attacking Mark Antony, who had him put to death. Cicero’s writings on philosophy and political theory played an important part in the development of Latin literature. Nearly 1000 of his letters survive; these contain references to his family and provide an interesting picture of his personal life.
