Tiro, Marcus Tullius

Abstract Marcus Tullius Tiro (ca. 103–4 BCE ) was first a slave and later a freedman of M. Tullius Cicero, from whom he inherited his nomen and praenomen . Little is known about his birth and parents, but Groebe ( RE col. 1319) dates his birth at 103 based on the evidence of Jerome (in Euseb. Chron . Olymp. 194). However, references to Tiro in Cicero's correspondence and elsewhere suggest that he was probably much younger than his master. Furthermore, a date of birth in 103 would mean that Tiro was fifty when he received his freedom in 53: this seems late if we can accept Cicero's remark that good slaves normally received their freedom within six years (Cic. Phil . 8.32). It is, therefore, perhaps better to posit a date of birth some time around 80, with the implication that he was in his twenties when he was manumitted.