Cato The Younger - in Literature and Drama

In Literature and Drama

Novels: Cato is a major character in several novels of Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series. He is portrayed as a stubborn alcoholic with strong moral values, though he is prepared to transgress these beliefs if it means the destruction of his mortal enemy, Caesar. Cato also appears in Thornton Wilder's highly-fictionalized "fantasia" Ides of March, where Cato is described by Caesar as one of "four men whom I most respect in Rome" but who "regard me with mortal enmity". Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick refers to Cato in the first paragraph: "With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship." He also appears as a major character in Robert Harris' Imperium and Lustrum novels, appearing as an eccentric, yet utterly inflexible guardian of republican virtues.

Plays: In 1712, Joseph Addison wrote his most famous work of fiction, a play entitled Cato, a Tragedy. Based on the last days of Cato the Younger, it deals with such themes as individual liberty vs. government tyranny, republicanism vs. monarchism, logic vs. emotion and Cato's personal struggle to cleave to his beliefs in the face of death. It had a great influence on George Washington, who arranged to have it performed at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778.

Poetry: Cato appears as a character in Dante's Purgatorio. He is in charge of the souls that arrive in Purgatory.

Television: In the television series Rome, Cato, played by actor Karl Johnson, is a significant character, although he is shown as quite older than his actual age (mid-forties) at the time. In the 2002 miniseries Julius Caesar, Cato is played by Christopher Walken (also depicted as much older than he was, since he is seen as a major figure in the senate when Caesar is just a young man, although Caesar was five years older than Cato). Cato was also featured in the BBC docudrama Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire.