Cato the Younger
Cato the Younger
orCato of Utica,
95 B.C.–46 B.C., Roman statesman, whose full name was Marcus Porcius Cato; great-grandson of Cato the ElderCato the Elderor Cato the Censor,
Lat. Cato Major or Cato Censorius, 234–149 B.C., Roman statesman and moralist, whose full name was Marcus Porcius Cato.
..... Click the link for more information. . Reared by his uncle Marcus Livius Drusus, he showed an intense devotion to the principles of the early republic. He had one of the greatest reputations for honesty and incorruptibility of any man in ancient times, and his Stoicism put him above the graft and bribery of his day. His politics were extremely conservative, and his refusal to compromise made him unpopular with certain of his colleagues. He was from the first a violent opponent of Julius CaesarCaesar, Julius
(Caius Julius Caesar), 100? B.C.–44 B.C., Roman statesman and general. Rise to Power
Although he was born into the Julian gens, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome, Caesar was always a member of the democratic or popular party.
..... Click the link for more information. and, outdoing CiceroCicero
(Marcus Tullius Cicero) or Tully,
106 B.C.–43 B.C., greatest Roman orator, famous also as a politician and a philosopher. Life
Cicero studied law and philosophy at Rome, Athens, and Rhodes.
..... Click the link for more information. in vituperation of the conspiracy of CatilineCatiline
(Lucius Sergius Catilina) , c.108 B.C.–62 B.C., Roman politician and conspirator. At first a conservative and a partisan of Sulla, he was praetor in 68 B.C. and governor of Africa in 67 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. in 63 B.C., tried to implicate Caesar in that plot, although maintaining his fairness to all. As a result he was sent (59 B.C.) to Cyprus by ClodiusClodius
(Publius Clodius Pulcher) , d. 52 B.C., Roman politician. He belonged to the Claudian gens (see Claudius), and his name is also written as Publius Claudius Pulcher. He was brother to Appius Claudius Pulcher and to the notorious Clodia. In 62 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. in what amounted to exile. He and his party supported PompeyPompey
(Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus) , 106 B.C.–48 B.C., Roman general, the rival of Julius Caesar. Sometimes called Pompey the Great, he was the son of Cnaeus Pompeius Strabo (consul in 89 B.C.), a commander of equivocal reputation.
..... Click the link for more information. after the break with Caesar. He accompanied Pompey across the Adriatic and held Dyrrhachium (modern Durazzo) for him until after the defeat at Pharsalus. Then he and Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio (see ScipioScipio
, ancient Roman family of the Cornelian gens. They were patricians. During the 3d and 2d cent. B.C. they were distinguished by their love of Greek culture and learning.
..... Click the link for more information. , family) went to Africa and continued the struggle against Caesar there. Cato was in command at Utica. After Caesar crushed (46 B.C.) Scipio at ThapsusThapsus
, ancient N African seaport, c.100 mi (161 km) SE of Carthage in what is now Tunisia. The last stronghold of Pompey's party, the town was besieged in 46 B.C. by Julius Caesar.
..... Click the link for more information. , Cato committed suicide, bidding his people make their peace with Caesar. Cicero and Marcus Junius BrutusBrutus
, in ancient Rome, a surname of the Junian gens. Lucius Junius Brutus, fl. 510 B.C., was the founder of the Roman republic. He feigned idiocy to escape death at the hands of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (see under Tarquin).
..... Click the link for more information. (Cato's son-in-law) wrote eulogies of him while Caesar wrote his Anticato against him; the noble tragedy of his death has been the subject of many dramas. He became the symbol of probity in public life.