234-149 B.C.E.
Statesman, Writer

Old-Fashioned. Born into a relatively modest family and a veteran of the Second Punic War (218-201 B.C.E.), Marcus Porcius Cato, or Cato the Elder, was one of the most important political and cultural figures of his age. (He is called "the Elder" in contrast to his great-grandson of the same name, famous for his opposition to Caesar.) His political career culminated in the consulship in 195 B.C.E. and the censorship in 184 B.C.E. Even after leaving office, he remained an influential figure in the Senate for decades; most notably he brought about the Third Punic War in the year of his death (149 B.C.E.). His reputation was as an "old-fashioned" moralist and strident nationalist, though at least the latter was partly a matter of public posturing. Cato was also the first...