Statue showing Marcus Junius Brutus

Roman statue showing, perhaps, Marcus Junius Brutus. Object dated to .30 of the 1st century BCE. The artifact is in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

Marcus Junius Brutus was a Roman politician, military commander, orator and writer. As an optimate, he was a supporter of the republic and an opponent of the dictatorships of Pompey and Caesar. He was friends with the orator Cicero. He was one of the leaders of the conspiracy against Caesar and was one of the dictator’s assassins. In the European tradition, the name Brutus became a symbol of a traitor and murderer fighting for a just cause. He was nicknamed the Tyrannicide.