Marcus Cicero was a Roman philosopher, politician, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul and constitutionalist. A strong believer in the Roman Republic, he served for a short time in the army and then began his career as a lawyer. He quickly became famous for taking risky cases and winning them. He also incurred the wrath of the Roman dictator Sulla. When Cicero was quaestor for Sicily, he successfully prosecuted a case against its governor, the powerful Gaius Verres. It was during this case that he became known as the greatest orator in all of Rome. He was elected to consul, the highest position in the Roman government. During his time as consul, he blocked a threat to overthrow the Republic. He was given the title, Pater Patriae, meaning "Father of the Country", by the Senate for his brave efforts. He watched warily the rise of Julius Caesar and his ambition and following his assassination ne became an enemy of Mark Anthony in the ensuing power struggle that of Antony and eventually lost his life . His extant works include 58 orations, around 900 letters, poems, philosophical and political treatises, and books of rhetoric. He is remembered as the greatest Roman orator and the innovator of what became known as Ciceronian rhetoric, which remained the foremost rhetorical model for many centuries.