Marcus Tullius Cicero Minor ( la, Minor, label=none, lit=younger), or Cicero the Younger, was born in 64 or 65 BC. He was the son of

Marcus Tullius 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 est ...

, who as a distinguished orator and consular senator was one of the leading figures of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...

during the 1st century BC, and his first wife, Terentia. Cicero Minor had an elder sister, Tullia, who was born in 79 BC and died in 45 BC. In the beginning Cicero wished to have a military career. On the outbreak of

Caesar's Civil War Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was one of the last politico-military conflicts of the Roman Republic before its reorganization into the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations between Gaius Julius Caesar ...

in 49 BC, he joined the side of

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

like his father. After Pompey's defeat by Julius Caesar at Pharsalus in 48 BC, Cicero Minor was pardoned by Caesar. Cicero was sent off to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

by his father to learn philosophy. While he was at Athens he wrote a letter to Tiro, a slave and later

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...

of the Cicero family, in which he said that he was practising declamation in Greek with Gorgias but had to let him go, because his father, whom he did not want to offend, had told him to. Cicero Minor was then taught declamation in Greek by Cassius, and Latin with

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Ser ...

, the two leading conspirators in the

assassination of Julius Caesar Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator, was assassinated by a group of senators on the Ides of March (15 March) of 44 BC during a meeting of the Senate at the Curia of Pompey of the Theatre of Pompey in Rome where the senators stabbed Caesar 23 ...

who, their deed complete, were in Greece trying to gain support for the war against the Second Triumvirate. Brutus praised Cicero and admired him for his noble spirit and his detestation of tyranny. During his time in

, Brutus gave Cicero command and used his services in a number of successful undertakings. After his father was murdered in 43 BC on the orders of

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 ...

, Cicero joined up with the army of Liberatores led by Cassius and Brutus. Brutus had recruited Cicero to help keep Greece under control. After their defeat at the

Battle of Philippi The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian (of the Second Triumvirate) and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, at ...

in 42 BC, Octavian pardoned Cicero and they worked together in the forthcoming struggle against Antony. Cicero subsequently became an

augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were ba ...

. Cicero participated in the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ne ...

in 31 BC, where Octavian defeated Antony, who later committed suicide. Cicero became one of the

suffect consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

s for 30 BC and announced Antony's death to the senate. He was appointed governor of the imperial province of Syria and the proconsul of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

. Cicero also revoked the honours of Antony and had all his statues removed, as well as decreeing that no member of the family would ever bear the name Marcus again. "In this way Heaven entrusted the family of Cicero the final acts in the punishment of Antony."Plutarch. Fall of the Roman Republic. London: Penguin Classics, 1958. The last record of Cicero the Younger is his appointment as second legate to Syria in 28 BC.

Resources

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ...

- Cicero and Brutus

External links

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Marcus Tullius Cicero the younger
entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith {{DEFAULTSORT:Cicero Minor 65 BC births 1st-century BC clergy 1st-century BC Roman governors of Syria 1st-century BC Roman consuls Roman-era students in Athens Roman governors of Asia Tullii Year of death unknown