Cicero

Killed in 43 BCE near Formiae on the orders of the Second Triumvirate proscription; his head and hands were displayed in Rome.

Overview

Marcus Tullius Cicero, the greatest orator of his age, had defended the Republic against Catiline and attacked Antony in the ferocious Philippic speeches after Caesar death. When Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate and proscribed their enemies, Cicero headed the list. He was intercepted at his villa near Formiae on 7 December 43 BCE and killed by the centurion Herennius; his head and hands, cut off on Antony instructions, were nailed to the speaker platform in the Forum. He had defended the rule of law in a lawless age, and his speeches and treatises on the state, oratory, and duty became foundational texts of western political thought for two thousand years.