Marcus Cicero

Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero)
A first century AD bust of Cicero in the Capitoline Museums, Rome
Consul of the Roman Republic
In office 63 BC – 63 BC Serving with Gaius Antonius Hybrida
Preceded by	Lucius Julius Caesar and Gaius Marcius Figulus
Succeeded by	Decimus Junius Silanus and Lucius Licinius Murena
Personal details
Born	3 January 106 BC Arpinum, Roman Republic (modern-day Arpino, Lazio, Italy)
Died	7 December 43 BC (aged 63) Formia, Roman Republic
Nationality	Roman
Political party	Optimates
Occupation	Politician, lawyer

Marcus Tullius Cicero (/ˈsɪsᵻroʊ/; Classical Latin: [ˈmaːr.kʊs ˈtʊl.lɪ.ʊs ˈkɪ.kɛ.roː]; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman politician and lawyer, who served as consul in the year 63 BC. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.

His influence on the Latin language was so immense that the subsequent history of prose, not only in Latin but in 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.

Though he was an accomplished orator and successful lawyer, 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 the Second Triumvirate and consequently executed by soldiers operating on their behalf in 43 BC after having been intercepted during attempted flight from the Italian peninsula. His severed hands and head were then, as a final revenge of Mark Antony, displayed in the Roman Forum.