Cato the Younger: The Republic's Last Citizen Who Defied Caesar to the Death
Cato the Younger, formally known as Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, was born in 95 BC. He began his political career at the age of 16 and participated in the fight against Spartacus in 72 BC. Throughout the 60s BC, he held several roles, including quaestor in 64 BC and Tribune of the Plebs in 62 BC. In 63 BC, he advocated for the death penalty for conspirators involved in the Catilinarian Conspiracy. Cato consistently resisted proposals from Pompey and Caesar, playing a role in the establishment of the First Triumvirate. Arrested in 59 BC for filibustering, he returned from Cyprus in 56 BC, attained the praetorship in 54 BC, and opposed Caesar. After Pompey’s assassination, he took his own life in Utica on April 13, 46 BC, impacting Stoic philosophy.
Key facts
- Cato the Younger was born in 95 BC as Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis.
- He was elected quaestor for 64 BC and Tribune of the Plebs for 62 BC.
- In 63 BC, Cato successfully argued for the execution of the Catilinarian conspirators against Caesar's proposal.
- Cato's obstruction in 60 BC helped drive Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus into the First Triumvirate.
- In 59 BC, Caesar had Cato arrested for filibustering a land bill, but the Senate's disapproval forced his release.
- Cato annexed Cyprus in 58 BC and returned in 56 BC with a large treasure for the state but nothing for himself.
- After Crassus' death in 53 BC, Cato encouraged Pompey to align against Caesar and proposed making Pompey sole consul in 52 BC.
- Cato committed suicide at Utica in 46 BC after the Republican defeat at Thapsus; Caesar arrived on April 13, 46 BC.
Entities
Artists
- Cato the Younger
- Cato the Elder
- Julius Caesar
- Cicero
- Pompey
- Crassus
- Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus
- Metellus Scipio
- Brutus
- Augustus
- Plutarch
- Spartacus
- Mithridates
- Catiline
- Clodius
- Jean-Baptiste Roman
- Francois Rude
- Gökberk Kaya
- Ludwig Gottlieb Portman
- Jacobus Buys
- Silvestre David Mirys
- Apollonio di Giovanni
- Marco del Buono Giamberti
- Giovanni Peruzzini
- Pietro Testa
- Carole Roddato
Institutions
- Roman Senate
- First Triumvirate
- Louvre Museum
- Musée de l’Histoire et des Civilizations
- Rijksmuseum
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Wikimedia Commons
- Art Station
- TheCollector
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Utica
- Africa
- Cyprus
- Spain
- Gaul
- Cisalpine Gaul
- Transalpine Gaul
- Illyricum
- Greece
- Egypt
- Dyrrhachium
- Pharsalus
- Thapsus
- Sicily
- Carthage
- Morocco
- St.Rémy-de-Provence
- France