Suicide of Cato the Younger

Suicide of Cato the Younger (95 – 46 BCE), a staunch opponent of Julius Caesar and a representative of the optimate party (Roman aristocracy), was an attempt to maintain honor in the face of defeat in the war with Caesar. In 46 BCE, after the defeat of Pompey’s troops and Republican senators in the civil war against Julius Caesar, Cato retreated to the city of Utica (in present-day Tunisia) in North Africa. Realizing that Caesar was closing in and not wanting to surrender or ask for mercy, he decided to commit suicide as an act of defiance of tyranny.

Cato first tried to stab himself in the stomach with his sword, but the wound was not fatal. After falling to the ground, he was treated by servants who tried to tend to him. While stitching up the wound, Cato pushed the doctor away and, in desperation, opened his wound even further, as a result of which he soon died. His death was perceived as a symbolic act of resistance and devotion to the ideals of the republic, and for many it was a model of courage and fidelity to principles, even at the cost of life. In the following years, the figure of Cato was idealized by the pro-republican Stoics of the early empire.

The painting titled “Cato’s suicide” is the work of an unknown author. In the painting we see Cato the Younger committing suicide by sticking a dagger into his chest and tearing the wound with his own hands. Before committing suicide, he allegedly said: “I am my own master now!”¹.