Cato the Elder

Marcus Porcius Cato ("Cato the Elder") lived from 234 to 149 B.C., and was a famous Roman statesman during the Punic Wars. He was serving Rome as consul in 195 B.C., when he suppressed a revolt in Carthaginian Spain. Cato served Rome as censor in 184 B.C. and acted against what he claimed was private extravagance.

Cato is famous for urging destruction of Carthage, with the plea he made at the end of every speech he gave, "Carthago delenda est", Carthage must be destroyed. At the end of the Third Punic War, Cato got his wish, as the victorious Romans destroyed the city of Carthage and sold its inhabitants into slavery.