Marcus Porcius Cato (died 118 BC) was a member of the Roman plebeian gens

Porcii The gens Porcia, rarely written Portia, was a plebeian family at Ancient Rome. Its members first appear in history during the third century BC. The first of the gens to achieve the consulship was Marcus Porcius Cato in 195 BC, and from then un ...

and

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 118 BC. Marcus Porcius Cato was the elder son of

Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus (191–152 BC) was son of Cato the Censor by his first wife Licinia, and thence called ''Licinianus'', to distinguish him from his half-brother, Marcus Porcius Cato Salonianus, the son of Salonia. He was distinguished ...

and the grandson of the famous conservative Roman politician

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write histo ...

. Nothing is known about his early life. In 121 BC at the latest he was

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 118 BC he became consul; his colleague was Quintus Marcius Rex. He went to Africa, perhaps to settle the dispute between the heirs of king

Micipsa Micipsa (Numidian: MKWSN; , ; died BC) was the eldest legitimate son of Masinissa, the King of Numidia, a Berber kingdom in North Africa. Micipsa became the King of Numidia in 148 BC. Early life In 151 BC, Masinissa sent Micipsa and his brother ...

of Numidia, the son of

Masinissa Masinissa ( nxm, , ''MSNSN''; ''c.'' 238 BC – 148 BC), also spelled Massinissa, Massena and Massan, was an ancient Numidian king best known for leading a federation of Massylii Berber tribes during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), ulti ...

, but Cato died during his consulate. Cato was a powerful orator. He left some posthumous speeches, which were preserved for some time.Aulus Gellius, ''Noctes Atticae'' 13.20.10

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References

*Franz Miltner: ''Porcius 10''. In: '' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''. Vol. XXII, 1, col. 165. 2nd-century BC births Year of birth unknown 118 BC deaths 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Roman Republican praetors Cato, Marcus Roman consuls who died in office {{AncientRome-bio-stub