Cato the Elder
Cato the Elder (Marcus Porcius Cato) or ‘Cato the Censor’ (234–149 BC)was a dominant figure in both the political and the cultural life of Rome in the first half of the 2nd cent. bc. A novus homo (roughly, the first man of his family to become a senator and/or consul), he was born at Tusculum, but spent much of his childhood in the Sabine country, where his family owned land. He served in the Hannibalic War, winning particular praise for his contribution at the battle of the Metaurus in 207. He embarked on a political career under the patronage of the patrician Lucius Valerius Flaccus, who was his colleague in both consulship and censorship. As quaestor 204 he served under Scipio Africanus in Sicily and Africa; a constant champion of traditional Roman virtues, he looked with disfavour on Scipio's adoption of Greek customs and relaxed military discipline in...
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