Marcus Caelius Rufus (82 BCE - 48 BCE) was a Roman orator and politician. He was born to an eques family in Interamnia (Teramo) or Puteoli. In his twenties he became associated with Crassus and Cicero, although he was also briefly connected to Lucius Sergius Catilina and his Catilinarian conspiracy. Caelius first achieved fame through his successful prosecution in 59 BC of Gaius Antonius Hybrida for corruption. Antonius had been co-consul with Cicero in 63 BC, and his prosecution was a sign of the negative political atmosphere towards Cicero at the time. Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC - 80s BC - 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC Years: 87 BC 86 BC 85 BC 84 BC 83 BC - 82 BC - 81 BC 80 BC 79... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC - 40s BC - 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC 0s Years: 53 BC 52 BC 51 BC 50 BC 49 BC 48 BC 47 BC 46 BC 45 BC... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Orator is a Latin word for speaker (from the Latin verb oro, meaning I speak or I pray). In ancient Rome, the art of speaking in public (Ars Oratoria) was a professional competence especially cultivated by politicians and lawyers. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... An Equestrian (Latin eques, plural equites) was a member of one of the two upper social classes in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. ... Interamnia (also: Interamna) is an ancient Latin placename, meaning between rivers. There were at least three towns of ancient Italy so named: Interamna Nahars (or Nahartium), the modern Terni: the rivers are the Nera and the Tiber; Interamna Praetutianorum, the modern Teramo: the rivers are the Tordino and the Vezzola... Teramo (Latin: Interamna Praetutiana or Interamna or more rarely Interamnium or Interamnia) is a city in the central Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. ... Marcus Licinius Crassus Dives (c. ... Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA: ; Classical pronunciation:  ; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator, statesman, political theorist, lawyer and philosopher of Ancient Rome. ... Catiline (Lucius Sergius Catilina) (108 BC-62 BC) was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline (or Catilinarian) conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 64 BC 63 BC 62 BC 61 BC 60 BC 59 BC 58 BC 57 BC 56... Gaius Antonius Hybrida (lived 1st century BC) was an Ancient Rome politician. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC - 60s BC - 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC Years: 68 BC 67 BC 66 BC 65 BC 64 BC 63 BC 62 BC 61 BC 60...

A year later, in 58 BCE, Cicero was exiled, partly through the efforts of his political enemy Publius Clodius Pulcher. Several years earlier, Clodius had infiltrated a ceremony at the house of Julius Caesar in honor of the Bona Dea dressed as a woman, because men were not allowed in. It is believed that he did this in order to carry on an affair with Pompeia Sulla, Caesar's wife. Although Clodius was acquitted, he never forgave Cicero for his testimony against him (some online sources list Cicero as one of the prosecuting lawyers, but Cicero's own letters [Ad Atticum 1.16] support that he was only one of the called witnesses). Clodius’ sister, Clodia, is believed to be the pseudonymous “Lesbia” that the poet Catullus wrote about. Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 63 BC 62 BC 61 BC 60 BC 59 BC 58 BC 57 BC 56 BC 55... Publius Clodius Pulcher (born around 92 BC, murdered January 18, 52 BC), was a Roman politician, chiefly remembered for his feuds with Milo and Marcus Tullius Cicero. ... Gāius JÅ«lius Caesar (IPA: ;[1]), July 12 or July 13, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC) was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. ... In Roman mythology, Bona Dea (the good goddess) was a goddess of fertility, healing, virginity and women. ... Pompeia Sulla (fl. ... Clodia, born Claudia Pulchra Tertulla in circa 95 BC, was the third daughter of the patrician Appius Claudius Pulcher and Caecilia Metella Balearica. ... Lesbia is the lover to whom the Roman poet Catullus dedicates a number of poems. ... For persons with a cognomen Catulus, see Lutatius Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. ...

Cicero was recalled from exile in 57 BCE with the help of his ally Titus Annius Milo, who was tribune at the time. Sometime around 57 BC, Marcus Caelius Rufus and Clodia are believed to have had an affair which ended acrimoniously. In 56, Caelius was prosecuted for “vis” (violent acts), specifically for murdering an ambassador. He was successfully defended by Crassus and, more famously, Cicero, whose speech Pro Caelio argued that the prosecutor, Atratinus, was being manipulated by Clodia Metelli to get revenge on Caelius for an affair gone wrong. Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 62 BC 61 BC 60 BC 59 BC 58 BC 57 BC 56 BC 55 BC 54... Titus Annius Milo Papianus was a Roman political agitator, the son of C. Papius Celsus, but adopted by his mothers father, T. Annius Luscus. ... Tribune (from the Latin: tribunus; Greek form tribounos) was a title shared by several elected magistracies and other governmental and/or (para)military offices of the Roman Republic and Empire. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 61 BC 60 BC 59 BC 58 BC 57 BC 56 BC 55 BC 54 BC 53... Pro Caelio is one of the most famous surviving speeches by the Roman orator, Cicero. ...

Catullus’ Poem 77 is about a “friend” named Rufus who betrays Catullus in an unspecified way. This could refer either to Rufus’ affair with Clodia/Lesbia, his unproven attempt to poison her, or his subsequent attacks on her through Cicero. The end of Poem 77 reads “Eripuisti, heu heu nostrae crudele venenum vitae, heu heu nostrae pestis amicitiae,” which translates to “You ripped it away, alas, alas cruel poison of our life alas, alas destroyer of our friendship.” For persons with a cognomen Catulus, see Lutatius Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. ...

Rufus was elected to the office of tribune in 52 BC and the office of aedile in 50 BC. During this period he wrote a series of witty and informative letters to Cicero, who was serving as proconsul at the time. Soon he sided with Julius Caesar against Pompey in the Roman Civil War and was rewarded with the office of praetor peregrinus (“judge of suits involving foreigners”). However, when his proposed program of debt relief was opposed by the Senate and he was suspended from office, he joined Milo in a rebellion against Caesar which was quickly crushed. Both Rufus and Milo were executed. Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 57 BC 56 BC 55 BC 54 BC 53 BC 52 BC 51 BC 50 BC 49... Aedile (Latin Aedilis, from aedes, aedis temple, building) was an office of the Roman Republic. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 55 BC 54 BC 53 BC 52 BC 51 BC 50 BC 49 BC 48 BC 47... For the Miocene ape, see Proconsul (genus) Under the Roman Empire a proconsul was a promagistrate filling the office of a consul. ... Pompey, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir [1] (Classical Latin abbreviation: CN·POMPEIVS·CN·F·SEX·N·MAGNVS[2], Gnaeus or Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus) (September 29, 106 BC – September 29, 48 BC), was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman republic. ... There were several Roman civil wars, especially during the time of the late Republic. ... According to the definition in Websters 1913 Dictionary, Praetor Peregrinus was, during the ancient Roman Republic, a magistrate (judge) of cases in which one or both of the parties were foreigners. ... Debt relief is the partial or total forgiveness of debt, or the slowing or stopping of debt growth, owed by individuals, corporations, or nations. ... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire, which ended in the 6th century AD. The word Senatus is derived from the Latin word senex, meaning old man or elder. ... Titus Annius Milo Papianus was a Roman political agitator, the son of C. Papius Celsus, but adopted by his mothers father, T. Annius Luscus. ...

Appearances in Popular Culture

Rufus appears as a reoccuring character in the Roma Sub Rosa series of historical mystery novels by Steven Saylor. Roma Sub Rosa is a series of mystery novels by Steven Saylor set in, and populated by noteworthy denizens of, Ancient Rome. ... Steven Saylor (born March 23, 1956) is an American writer of historical novels. ...

External Links

• Encyclopaedia Britannica Marcus Caelius Rufus