The only son & namesake of
the famous Roman orator & statesman was studying philosophy in Athens
when civil war broke out in Rome (44 BCE).
When his father was killed in Marc
Antony's purge of senatorial supporters of the assassins of Julius
Caesar (43 BCE),
Brutus recruited him & gave him a military command to help secure
control of Greece. After Brutus' death at Philippi (42 BCE),
Cicero Jr. allied himself with Octavian
in his feud with Antony. He was serving as Octavian's co-consul the
year that Antony committed suicide after his defeat at Actium (30 BCE).
In small consolation for his father's murder, the younger Cicero announced
Antony's suicide to the Senate & personally issued the decrees
revoking all his honors & the removal of his statues. To solidify
Octavian's dominion over territory formerly controlled by Antony, Cicero
was made the new emperor's second legate to Syria (28 BCE).
References:
Plutarch, Parallel
Lives: Cicero 45, 49.
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