The Life and Works of Cicero

In survey histories of Rome, Cicero is often a second string character hanging out in the shadows behind Caesar and Octavian. There are several reasons for Cicero's relative obscurity next to the Triumbers. He wrote literally dozens of books, in addition to hundreds of thousands of words worth of defense speeches, prosecutions, deformations and letters. But I think that Cicero's complexity and the way that he fits into the last act of the republic is precisely why he needs some extra coverage on our podcast.