CIC: Lesson - Cicero's Biography

Marcus Tullius Cicero's Biography

Marcus Tullius Cicero (the cognomen Cicero means chickpea in Latin) was born on January 3, 106 BCE, the same year as Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, Caesar's great rival. Cicero spent his early years in Arpinum, about 70 miles south of Rome. Although his family was well-to-do, it was not a part of the nobility, a fact that bothered Cicero most of his life and in part explains his ambitions and drive to excel in all that he undertook. His only claim to nobility was a distant relationship with Gaius Marius, the arch-enemy of L. Cornelius Sulla (which means that he was also a very distant relative of Gaius Julius Caesar, since Marius was Caesar's uncle).

Early Life

When Cicero was eight years old, his father, a man of literary tastes and with a desire for his sons to be politically successful, bought a house in Rome so that his children would have an opportunity for a true Roman education. Marcus fulfilled the dreams of his father, establishing a reputation as a scholar even in his youth. He studied literature, rhetoric, oratory, and philosophy under the best teachers possible including the famous Archias who implanted in his student a lifelong love of literature, Philo, and Molo. Cicero became as competent in Greek as in Latin. His later writings reflect this strong background in the Greek language, culture, and philosophical thought.

Image: a painting depicting Cicero as a young boy reading a book.

The fresco in the image depicts a young Cicero, reading and dates to 1464 CE. In the Rome of Cicero there were no law schools; therefore, a young man would attach himself as a sort of apprentice to a lawyer and learn from him not only the law but also oratorical skills. Cicero was fortunate to have Quintus Mucius Scaevola as his mentor. It was under his tutelage that he met several lifelong friends who were also famous lawyers of the day. Cicero was also mentored by the family's patrons Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and Lucius Licinius Crassus who served as a model of an orator and statesman.

Cicero the Lawyer

Cicero established himself as a lawyer and orator in 80 BCE when he defended Sextus Roscius who was charged with parricide. This was a courageous move on the part of the young lawyer not only because parricide was considered an appalling crime but also because he accused allies of Sulla of actually committing the crime. Not only was Cicero risking his future career but also his life. (Remember the conscriptions of Sulla from our study of Caesar?) Roscius was acquitted and Cicero was on his way. But before plowing ahead with his career, Cicero traveled to Greece, Asia Minor and Rhodes to further extend his education particularly in philosophy and rhetoric (maybe also to stay out of Sulla's way). It was in Athens that Cicero met Atticus who was to become a lifelong friend and to whom Cicero wrote numerous letters that have given us much insight into the life of Romans in the late Republic. Upon his return to Rome at the age of 29, Cicero, like many men of his day, married the wealthy Tarentia, who was 14 or 15 at the time. They were to have two children, Tullia and Marcus.

Cicero's Political Career

Shortly after his return to Rome, Cicero began his political career and was elected to the office of quaestor in 75 BCE. His duties in this office took him to Sicily where he earned the respect of the Sicilians with his ability and fairness. At the end of his term he led the Sicilians in their successful prosecution of Verres, the corrupt governor of Sicily. Verres went into exile and Cicero established himself as the greatest orator in Rome. Cicero continued on the cursus honorum by being elected to the offices of aedile (69 BCE), praetor (66 BCE), and consul (63 BCE). Achieving the highest office in the republic was a remarkable accomplishment considering the fact that Cicero's family was not patrician and had not been involved in the politics of Rome. Cicero was the first novus homo since Gaius Marius, a distant relative and also a native of Arpinum.

Image: a painting of Cicero denouncing Catiline in the Roman senate. Cicero's consulship was marked with several crises. The most important of these was the plot by Lucius Sergius Catilina, a patrician rival for the consulship in the previous year, to overthrow the Roman government. In a series of vehement speeches Cicero exposed the conspiracy and the corrupt lifestyle of Catiline and his followers (the image to the right, depicting Caesar's denunciation of Catiline, was painted in 1889 by Cesare Maccari). At Cicero's urging, the Senate passed a decree authorizing the execution of many of Catiline's followers. Catiline himself had fled the city and had organized an army which included many veterans of Sulla's wars. Catiline's revolt was put down and Catliline, along with many of the soldiers, was slain. Although Cicero received the title of Pater Patriae for his successful suppression of the conspiracy, he later was exiled for having put Roman citizens to death without a trial.

In the year following his consulship Cicero took on the prosecution of Publius Clodius Pulcher, a prominent patrician who had violated the sanctity of the Vestal Virgins. Clodius managed to gain acquittal through bribery and became Cicero's bitter enemy. In 61 BCE Julius Caesar invited Cicero to become a part of his coalition with Crassus and Pompey but Cicero declined out of a fear of harm to the republican form of government. In the ensuing years Caesar aided Clodius in his political career. It was Clodius who was responsible for Cicero's exile from Rome for the execution of the Catilinarian conspirators. Cicero's political demise and exile threw him into a deep depression. However, he was able to return to Rome in 57 BCE after the Senate passed a bill for his recall which was approved by a large majority of the comitia centuriata.

The End of Cicero's Life

The remaining years of Cicero's life resulted in only a modicum of success. He served as the governor of Silicia in 50 BCE. Although he was a fair and efficient administrator, Cicero never really enjoyed this year away from Rome. Upon his return in 49 BCE Cicero found Rome in turmoil as Caesar and Pompey were now bitter enemies. He tried unsuccessfully to reconcile the two. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon River and entered Roman territory as an enemy of the Republic, Cicero fled from Rome. After Caesar's defeat of Pompey, Cicero returned to Rome but was inactive in the political arena. He spent his time writing on philosophical and literary topics.

Also during this time Cicero experienced several setbacks in his personal life. In 46 BCE he divorced his wife of many years, Tarentia. This left him financially strapped. He then married Publia who had been his ward. It is thought that this was a marriage of convenience since Publia came from a wealthy family. Shortly thereafter Cicero's daughter Tullia, to whom he was deeply devoted, died. Publia, who was younger than Tullia and probably jealous of Cicero's devotion to his daughter, showed little sympathy and so Cicero divorced her shortly afterwards.

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BCE, Cicero renewed his involvement in the politics of the day. His hope was to restore the traditional republican form of government. As a result, he became a bitter enemy of Marc Antony and delivered fourteen speeches against Antony known as the Philippics. When the second triumvirate was formed by Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus, Cicero was proscribed (a proscription list included people who could be killed and their property confiscated) at the instigation of Antony and with the protestation of Octavian. On December 7, 42 BCE, Cicero was killed. Antony ordered his head and hands to be nailed to the Rostra where Cicero had spent much of his life. With Cicero's death, the last great defender of the Republic was gone. In the following years Octavian defeated Antony and became the first emperor of Rome.