Marcus Tullius Cicero

Born in Arpinum in 106 BCE, Cicero rose from a wealthy but non-aristocratic family to the very center of Roman public life. He built his reputation in the law courts, became famous for his extraordinary speaking ability, and won the consulship in 63 BCE, when he confronted the Catiline conspiracy.

His life was tied to the collapse of the Roman Republic. He tried again and again to defend constitutional government during years of civil conflict, but the struggle between powerful rivals left little room for the kind of republic he imagined. After the rise of Mark Antony and Octavian, Cicero was killed in 43 BCE.

Cicero is remembered not only as a politician but as one of antiquity's greatest prose writers. His speeches, essays, and especially his letters give an unusually vivid picture of Roman politics, friendship, ambition, and fear. For modern readers and listeners, he still feels strikingly alive: sharp, eloquent, anxious, witty, and deeply invested in the fate of his world.