Terentia

Terentia (; 98 BC – AD 6) was the wife of the renowned orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. She was instrumental in Cicero's political life both as a benefactor and as a fervent activist for his cause. Family background Terentia was born into a wealthy plebeian family by the name of Terentius. She may have been a daughter of the Terentii Varrones, who were the most important senatorial branch of that family. This is suggested by the fact that Cicero had a cousin with the cognomen Varro and a friend by the name of Marcus Terentius Varro. This Varro owned a house near Arpinum not far from Cicero's own birthplace. Therefore, if Terentia was indeed the daughter of a Varro, Cicero's links to this family may have influenced his marriage to Terentia. Terentia had one half-sister named Fabia, who was a Vestal Virgin and the daughter of a patrician named Fabius. If Terentia's mother married the plebeian Terentius first, then Terentia was the older sister and probably the sole inheritor of her father's estate. Upon her father's death, Terentia became very wealthy.