Marcus Antonius (143–87 BC) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

politician of the Antonius family and one of the most distinguished Roman

orators Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

of his time. He was also the grandfather of the famous general and triumvir,

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

Career

His ''

cursus honorum The ''cursus honorum'' (; , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices') was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The ''c ...

'' begins with the quaestorship in 113 BC and an incident involving the Vestals, and in 102 Antonius was elected

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

with

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

ar powers for the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern co ...

. During his term, Antonius fought the pirates with such success that the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

voted a naval triumph in his honor. He was then elected

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in 99, together with Aulus Postumius Albinus, and in 97, he was elected censor. He held a command in the Social War in 90. During the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

between Cinna and Octavius, Antonius supported the latter. This cost him his life;

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

and Cinna executed him when they obtained possession of Rome in 87. Throughout Antonius' political career, he continued to appear as a mediative defender or an accuser in Roman courts of law. Antonius' modern reputation for eloquence derives from the authority of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, since none of his speeches survive. He is one of the chief speakers in Cicero's ''

De Oratore ''De Oratore'' (''On the Orator''; not to be confused with '' Orator'') is a dialogue written by Cicero in 55 BC. It is set in 91 BC, when Lucius Licinius Crassus dies, just before the Social War and the civil war between Marius and Sulla, d ...

''.

Family

Antonius' father was named Lucius Julius III His Mother was Popilia Antonius had a daughter,

Antonia Antonia may refer to: People * Antonia (name), including a list of people with the name * Antonia gens, a Roman family, any woman of the gens was named ''Antonia'' * Antônia (footballer) * Antônia Melo Entertainment * ''Antonia's Line'', ori ...

, and two sons, Marcus Antonius Creticus and Gaius Antonius Hybrida. Marcus Antonius Creticus was the father of the triumvir

. In 100 Antonius obtained a triumph, because he had fought successfully against the Cilician pirates. Some time later his daughter Antonia was kidnapped by pirates from his villa near Misenum and was only released after the payment of a large ransom.

Death

In the biography of Gaius Marius in Plutarch's Parallel Lives, it is described that Marcus Antonius went to visit a humble plebeian who, to make his distinguished guest feel at home, sent a slave to a nearby innkeeper to get some wine. When the innkeeper asked why he was buying such an expensive wine, the slave naively told the innkeeper that Marcus Antonius was visiting his master's house. When the slave left, this innkeeper went to tell Marius. It is said that on hearing the news during a meal that Marius applauded with joy and almost went to the house in person, however he sent Annius with a group of men to bring back the head of Marcus Antonius. When the men reached the house, Annius waited outside while his armed men went in. When they found Antonius he began to plead for his life and the armed men found him so bewitching and charismatic that they hung their heads and wept. Finally Annius entered the room. Hurling curses at his men, he finally strode across the room and cut off the orator's head. * Plutarch, ''Marius'', 44

References

Attribution

; endnotes: * Marcus Velleius Paterculus ii. 22 * Appian, ''Bell. Civ.'' i. 72 * Dio Cassius xlv. 47 * Plutarch, ''Marius'', 44 * Cicero, ''Orator'', 5, ''Brutus'', 37 * Quintilian, ''Instit.'' iii. 1, 19 * O. Enderlein, ''De M. Antonio oratore'' (Leipzig, 1882)

External links

*Details of the paternal ancestors of Antonius can be found in the ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Volume 1, page
213
an

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonius, Marcus 143 BC births 87 BC deaths 2nd-century BC Roman praetors 1st-century BC Roman augurs 1st-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Marcus Executed ancient Roman people People executed by the Roman Republic Roman censors Roman triumphators