Hortensia

Hortensia, daughter of consul and advocate Quintus Hortensius Hortalus, earned renown 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 BC 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 from his rivalry with his 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 by 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. Speech before the Second Triumvirate