Why cicero was killed

They therefore issued proscriptions against their enemies. Anyone on these lists would be ruled an outlaw and stripped of their possessions and their citizenship. Mark Antony had insisted that Cicero be put on the proscriptions list. According to Plutarch, Octavian had argued for two days with both Mark Antony and Lepidus that Cicero be left alone, but to no avail; he yielded on the third day Life of Cicero Plutarch furthermore claims that Cicero had decided to flee, but had second thoughts on his way to Macedonia, and returned to Rome.

But then he imagined being taken captive and tortured, and ordered his servants instead to take him to Caieta on the coast modern Gaeta , where he possessed another villa. As Plutarch tells it Life of Cicero 48 :. But meantime his assassins came to the villa, Herennius a centurion, and Popillius a tribune, who had once been prosecuted for parricide and defended by Cicero; and they had helpers. After they had broken in the door, which they found closed, Cicero was not to be seen, and the inmates said they knew not where he was.

The tribune, accordingly, taking a few helpers with him, ran round towards the exit, but Herennius hastened on the run through the walks, and Cicero, perceiving him, ordered the servants to set the litter down where they were. Then he himself, clasping his chin with his left hand, as was his wont, looked steadfastly at his slayers, his head all squalid and unkempt, and his face wasted with anxiety, so that most of those that stood by covered their faces while Herennius was slaying him.

For he stretched his neck forth from the litter and was slain, being then in his sixty-fourth year. He accepted the governorship of Cilicia, a province located in present-day Turkey, and then returned to Rome in late Striving for control of Rome, neither Caesar nor Pompey wanted Cicero for an enemy, and both men appealed to him for his allegiance.

Cicero chose to side with Pompey. In 46 B. Caesar was declared Dictator perpetuo , dictator for life.

Despite siding with Pompey, Cicero was pardoned by Caesar, who allowed him to return to Rome. Cicero began another period of intensive writing, creating many works defending republican values. Although the plotters were close associates of Cicero—including Marcus Brutus whom Cicero had mentored—they kept their plans secret from the great orator.

In his writings he expressed horror at the violence but supported the actions of the assassins:. Our tyrant deserved his death for having made an exception of the one thing that was the blackest crime of all. The man who maintains that such an ambition is morally right is a madman, for he justifies the destruction of law and liberty and thinks their hideous and detestable suppression glorious.

A few days after the murder, he advocated amnesty for the assassins in the Senate. To take advantage of his position, Antony orchestrated a spectacular funeral for the fallen leader. His stirring eulogy roused the passions of the crowd and turned public opinion against the assassins.

Fearing for his life, Brutus fled from Rome. Cicero bemoaned Mark Antony's actions after the death of Julius Caesar. He wrote to his friend Atticus: "Do you remember how you cried out that the cause was lost if he [Caesar] had a state funeral. But he was even cremated in the forum and given a pathetic eulogy, and slaves and paupers were sent against our houses with torches. I strongly differ from you Brutus. You will be crushed, believe me Brutus, unless you take proper precautions.

Cicero remained convinced that he had a part to play in the survival of the republic. He knew that his close political associations with Brutus and other conspirators would hurt his cause, so he needed a strong political ally to counter that factor. He thought he had found just the person—a youth of 18, who was in the early days of what would turn out to be an impressive career.

That young man was Octavian, a great-nephew of Julius Caesar. Caesar had named Octavian as his heir in his will. Cicero was encouraged to observe later in Rome, Octavian presented himself, unaccompanied by Antony, to the veterans of two legions and reiterated their rights. Beginning in September and continuing into the spring of 43, Cicero delivered scathing speeches against Antony in the Senate that fanned outrage against him.

These 14 orations were called the Philippics because they were modeled after warnings that the Athenian Demosthenes delivered about Philip of Macedon in the fourth century B.

Perhaps harkening back to his famed orations against Catiline, Cicero argued for the restoration of the republic, advocated for Octavian, and framed Antony as a tyrant. Cicero unleashed all his rhetorical forces against Mark Antony in 14 written speeches called Philippics. In the second, Cicero proclaims that despite knowing the risks, he is determined to fight for liberty.

Be reconciled to the republic. However, do you decide on your conduct. As to mine, I myself will declare what that shall be. I defended the republic as a young man, I will not abandon it now that I am old.

I scorned the sword of Catiline, I will not quail before yours. No, I will rather cheerfully expose my own person, if the liberty of the city can be restored by my death. When news of the victories reached Rome there was jubilation in the Senate.

Cicero, the man of the hour, was borne in triumph from his home on Capitoline Hill to the Forum. There he mounted the rostrum and delivered an exultant address to the people of Rome. Antony managed to salvage a sector of his legions.

Octavian, instead of pursuing Antony, decided to claim the vacant consulship for himself. When the Senate refused, Octavian lost no time in crossing the Rubicon—as Julius Caesar had before him—and marched on Rome with his legions. The senators were powerless to resist, and had to give in to his demands. Devastated that the republican cause was now lost, Cicero withdrew from Rome to spend time in his rural retreats in southern Italy. From there he looked on powerlessly as Octavian, reconciled with Antony, eventually formed the Second Triumvirate with him and Lepidus.

Not only did Cicero feel this was a step backward politically, it also posed a serious personal threat to his life. But at one point, Quintus retraced his steps in order to pick up provisions for the journey. Betrayed by his slaves, Quintus was killed a few days later along with his son. Pompey was assassinated four years later. He sought to demonstrate that Antony was an enemy of the state arguably a treasonable assertion, bearing in mind that he was still consul, if only for a few more days.

Cicero was put on a special list of people targeted for execution, along with his brother, son, nephew and a handful of friends. He went into hiding and the public was encouraged to help hunt him down.

On December 7, 43BC, Cicero left his country house near the Italian town of Caieta for the coast, where he planned to take a ship to Macedonia. But, according to historian Appian, two officers were hot on his heels. When Cicero and his men reached the coast, the sea was said to be too rough for travelling and they returned to dry land, lying low. According to Everitt, Cicero was able to use his remarkable oratorical skills to argue circles around his opponents.

In later years, the Catholic Church preserved his writings, believing he was worthy of being saved from the shadow of obscurity. Everitt believes Cicero was a man who lived at the wrong time. While he tried to create laws to keep the government in order, the Republic was collapsing all around him.

Follow her on Twitter LJCharleston.