Gaius Porcius Cato (1st century BC) was a distant relative, probably a second cousin, of the more famous Marcus Porcius Cato, called

Cato the Younger Marcus Porcius Cato "Uticensis" ("of Utica"; ; 95 BC – April 46 BC), also known as Cato the Younger ( la, Cato Minor), was an influential conservative Roman senator during the late Republic. His conservative principles were focused on the pr ...

. This Cato was probably the son of

Gaius Porcius Cato Gaius Porcius Cato (before 157 BC – after 109 BC in Tarraco) was a Roman politician and general, notably consul in 114 BC. He was the son of Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus and grandson of Cato the Censor. Initially a friend of the Gracchi br ...

, the homonymous consul of 114 BC, being then the grandson of Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus and thereby the great-grandson of the famous Cato the Censor, often called

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 ...

. Gaius Porcius Cato was a client (an adherent) of triumvir

Marcus Licinius Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...

and was an ally of Clodius (

Publius Clodius Pulcher Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC) was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudia gens, one ...

) the infamous Patrician

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

, in his street gang war against Milo (

Titus Annius Milo Titus Annius Milo (died 48 BC) was a Roman political agitator. The son of Gaius Papius Celsus, he was adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus. In 52 BC, he was prosecuted for the murder of Publius Clodius Pulcher and exiled from ...

). He attacked

Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther ( – 47 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Hailing from the patrician family of the Cornelii, he helped suppress the Catilinarian conspiracy during his term as curule aedile in 63 BC and later se ...

and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

) in 59 BC by prosecuting a follower, Gabinius, for ''

ambitus In ancient Roman law, ''ambitus'' was a crime of political corruption, mainly a candidate's attempt to influence the outcome (or direction) of an election through bribery or other forms of soft power. The Latin word ''ambitus'' is the origin ...

'' (political corruption) but was thwarted by a Pompeian praetor and was chased from the rostra by an angry crowd. In 57 BC he spoke against delaying the aedelician elections (Clodius was standing and Milo wanted the delay to allow a prosecution).

Tribunate

Cato served as a plebeian tribune himself in 56 BC, and in his political activities, he was usually associated with his colleague Nonius Sufenas. During their tribunate, they worked for the so-called First

triumvirate A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

of Gaius

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

, Crassus and Pompey, now allied with his benefactor Crassus, and delayed the ''comitia'' to promote the election of Pompey and Crassus as consuls. The following year, after his tribunate, Cato and Sufenas were both accused of procedural violations. Although Cato's prosecutor in the trial was the future Caesarian historian

Gaius Asinius Pollio (consul 40 BC) Gaius Asinius Pollio (75 BC – AD 4) was a Roman soldier, politician, orator, poet, playwright, literary critic, and historian, whose lost contemporary history provided much of the material used by the historians Appian and Plutarch. Poll ...

they were both acquitted. Cato may have won a praetorship in 55 BC, but T. Corey Brennan disputes this.T. Corey Brennan, ''Praetorship'', p. 417

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porcius Cato, Gaius 1st-century BC Romans Cato, Gaius Tribunes of the plebs