The
Assassination of Cicero
Today marks the anniversary of
Cicero’s assassination in 43 B.C. A
lawyer, politician, writer and orator, his letters serve as both a source for
the goings-on in a tumultuous period in Rome and as guidance for the art of
letter writing.
After the assignation of Julius Caesar, Thinking Marc Antony
to be little more than a thug, Cicero took the additional step of detailing his
views in a series of speeches, hoping to reduce Antony’s influence for the
benefit of Octavian, Caesar’s heir. When,
however, Octavian and Antony joined forces in the Second Triumvirate, Cicero’s
days were numbered> Ultimately he was
“proscribed” (i.e., ordered executed
and his property seized). While the
depiction of his execution as portrayed in the HBO series Rome was true to his
character, it in fact took place on a road with Cicero riding in a litter; he
did not resist.
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