Brutus Letters (Βρούτου Ἐπιστολαί)

Life Marcus Junius Brutus (85–42 BCE) was a Roman senator, a Stoic, and a leading assassin of Julius Caesar. Educated in Athens and fluent in Greek, he was a student of the philosopher Aristus and a correspondent of Cicero. Following Caesar’s assassination, he was defeated at the Battle of Philippi and died by suicide [2][3].

Works The Letters of Brutus (Epistulae Bruti) is a collection of letters in Koine Greek attributed to him. The authenticity of the corpus is disputed; while some letters, particularly those to Cicero, may be genuine, others are likely later rhetorical exercises or forgeries [1][4].

Significance The letters are valuable historical artifacts from the late Roman Republic, offering potential insight into a principal figure’s motivations and political communication in Greek. Their disputed authenticity also makes them a case study in the reception of Brutus as a republican and Stoic symbol [1][4].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Plato.stanford.edu): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/brutus/ 2. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP.utm.edu): https://iep.utm.edu/brutus/ 3. Encyclopædia Britannica (Britannica.com): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marcus-Junius-Brutus 4. Perseus Digital Library, Cicero's Letters (Perseus.tufts.edu): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0020:text=Brut