Hortensia, daughter of consul and advocate
Quintus Hortensius Hortalus, earned notoriety during the late
Roman Republic as a skilled
orator. She is best known for giving a speech in front of the members of the
Second Triumvirate in 42 B.C. that resulted in the partial repeal of a tax on wealthy Roman women.
Life
Little is known about the life of Hortensia aside from her career as an orator. She was the daughter of Quintus Hortensius (114 - 50 BC) apparently by his first wife
Lutatia. Her father was well-known among Romans due to his moving sermons on history and law and rivalry with fellow orator
Marcus Tullius Cicero. As a member of the aristocracy, Hortensia grew up in a wealthy household, and thus, had access to
Greek and
Latin literature from a young age. She later concentrated on the study of
rhetoric by reading speeches from the likes of her father and prominent Greek orators.
Hortensia is also believed to have been married to her second cousin
Quintus Servilius Caepio, son of
Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger and brother of
Cato Uticensis and
Servilia Caepionis; however, she was left a widow when he died in 67 B.C. She had a daughter Servilia who married another conservative senator. Her husband adopted his sister's son
Marcus Junius Brutus before his death; thus Brutus became technically Quintus Servilius Caepio Junianus by adoption, though he later repudited the name (but not the wealth or patrician status) for political reasons.
Speech before the......
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