Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC-43 BC), Roman statesman, orator and writer. Cicero is best known for his philosophical writings, though his essays are a source of historical information on the end of the Roman Republic. Cicero was elected consul in 63 BC, dealing ruthlessly with an attempted coup in the Catiline Orations. Following exile he returned to politics. He witnessed Julius Caesar's rise to power and his assassination in 44 BC. In the power struggles that followed Cicero opposed Mark Antony, and he himself was murdered. This bust is held at the Museum of Naples, Italy. Artwork from 'Histoire des Romains' (1883).