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Cato was born in 95 BC in Rome, the son of Marcus Porcius Cato by his wife Livia Drusa. He lost both of his parents very early and was educated by his maternal uncle Marcus Livius Drusus. He was not the only orphan the widower Drusus had to take care of. Along with Cato were Quintus Servilius Caepio and Servilia Caepionis from Livia's first marriage, Porcia Catones (Cato's blood sister) and Drusus Nero (Marcus Livius' adopted son).
The legend of Cato's stubbornness began in his early years. Sarpedon, his tutor, reports a very obedient and questioning child, although slow in being persuaded of things and sometimes difficult. A story told by Plutarch gives a good example of the man Cato was going to be. When Popaedius Silo , leader of the Marsii and then involved in a highly controversial business in the Roman forum, made a visit to his friend Marcus Livius he met the children of the house. In a playful mood he asked the children's support for his cause. All of them nodded and smiled except Cato, who stared at the guest with most suspicious looks. Silo demanded an answer from him and seeing no response took Cato and hanged him by the feet out of the window. Even then, Cato would not say anything. Being a friend of the family, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the dictator, liked to talk with Cato and his inseparable half-brother Caepio, and appreciated his company even when the teenager defied his opinions in public.
After receiving his inheritance, Cato moved from his uncle's house and began to study Stoic philosophy, and moral and political doctrine. He began to live in a very modest way, like his great-grandfather Cato the Elder was famous for. Cato subjected himself to violent exercise, and learned to endure cold and rain with a minimum of clothes. He ate only what was necessary and drank the cheapest wine in the market. This was entirely for philosophical reasons, since his inheritance would have permitted him to live comfortably. He remained in private life for a long time, rarely seen in public. But when he did appear in the Forum, his speeches and rhetorical skills were most admired.
Although Cato was promised Aemilia Lepida, a patrician woman, she married Cornelius Scipio instead. He threatened to sue them both in the courts of law, but then his friends convinced him to step aside and marry a woman called Atilia. By her, he had a son, Marcus Porcius Cato, and a daughter, Porcia Catones, who would become the second wife of Brutus.
As a military tribune, Cato was sent to Macedon in 67 BC and given command of a legionSee also Legion software and Legion forummer. The Roman legion (from the Latin legio meaning levy) was the basic military unit of ancient Rome. It consisted of about 5,000 to 6,000 (later 8,000) infantry soldiers and several hundred cavalrymen. Legions we. He led his men from the front, sharing their work, food and sleeping quarters. He was strict in discipline and punishment but ended being loved by his legionariesA Legionary is a member of a legion. Roman legionaries Called miles ("soldier") or legionarius in Latin, the Roman legionary was (usually) a Roman citizen under 45 years of age. The soldier enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change f. While Cato was in service in Macedon, he received the news that his beloved half-brother was dying in Thrace. He immediately set off to see him and got there in time to watch Caepio expire. Cato was overwhelmed by grief and, for once in his life, he spared no expense to organize a superb funeral for his brother. Caepio left his fortune to be divided between his daughter Servilia and Cato.
At the end of his military commission in Macedon, Cato went on a private journey through the Roman provinceA Roman province (Latin, provincia was the largest territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's foreign possessions (beyond the Italian peninsula). The word province in modern English therefore has its origins in the term employed by the Romas of the Middle East.