Lucius Porcius Cato was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

general and politician who became

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

in 89 BC alongside

Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo (c. 135 – 87 BC) was a Roman general and politician, who served as consul in 89 BC. He is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo, to distinguish him from his son, the famous Pompey the Great, or from Strabo the ge ...

. He died at the

Battle of Fucine Lake The Battle of Fucine Lake was fought in 89 BC between a Roman army and a rebel force during the Social War. Lucius Porcius Cato was the leader of the Roman army at this battle. The consul Porcius Cato was defeated and killed while storming a M ...

, possibly at the hands of

Gaius Marius the Younger Gaius Marius "the Younger" (c. 110 – 82 BC) was a Roman republican general and politician who became consul in 82 BC with Papirius Carbo. He fought in Sulla's civil war. He committed suicide that same year at Praeneste, after his defeat by ...

Biography

Lucius Porcius Cato was a son of

Marcus Porcius Cato Salonianus Marcus Porcius M. f. M. n. Cato Salonianus (born c. 154 BC) was the younger son of Cato the Elder, and grandfather of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis, also known as "Cato the Younger". Salonianus' father was Marcus Porcius Cato, consul in 195 BC, and ...

. He was elected

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

in 92 BC. In 90 BC, during the Social War, he was given a propraetoral command and defeated an Etruscan army which had joined the revolt. He was elected

in 89 BC, alongside Pompey Strabo, and took over the southern command from

Lucius Caesar Lucius Caesar (17 BC – 20 August AD 2) was a grandson of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. The son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder, Augustus' only daughter, Lucius was adopted by his grandfather along with his older brother, ...

. Although his troops were undisciplined and mutinied at one point, he managed to inflict a defeat on them early on. However, at the

in the winter of 89 BC, he was winning an engagement with the Marsi when he was killed near the end of the battle, in an attempt to storm the enemy camp, leading to a Marsic victory.Philip Matyszak, ''Cataclysm 90 BC'', p. 105. Although it is usually assumed that he was killed by Marsic soldiers, at least one source states that he was killed by

, the son of the famous Roman general and politician, Gaius Marius, who was furious that Cato had boasted that his own achievements were on par with the elder Marius's victory over the

Cimbri The Cimbri (Greek Κίμβροι, ''Kímbroi''; Latin ''Cimbri'') were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic people (or Gaulish), Germanic people, or even Cimmerian. Several ancient sources indicate that ...

Cultural depictions

The circumstances surrounding his death constitute a subplot in the second novel of the Australian novelist

Colleen McCullough Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being '' The Thorn Birds'' and '' The Ladies of Missalonghi''. Lif ...

Masters of Rome ''Masters of Rome'' is a series of historical novels by Australian author Colleen McCullough, set in ancient Rome during the last days of the old Roman Republic; it primarily chronicles the lives and careers of Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sul ...

series, ''

The Grass Crown ''The Grass Crown'' is the second historical novel in Colleen McCullough's ''Masters of Rome'' series, published in 1991. The novel opens shortly after the action of '' The First Man in Rome''. Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla eat dinner ...

''.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porcius Cato, Lucius 2nd-century BC births Year of birth uncertain 89 BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Roman generals killed in action Cato, Lucius Roman consuls who died in office