ABSTRACT
Because little is known of Terentia’s family, it will be best to begin with the family into which she was to marry. Perhaps her own family was similarly rooted in an Italian town. After her marriage, if not before, she was acquainted with the kin, friends and houses with which her husband had grown up. It is necessary, therefore, to introduce Cicero. His career has been described by many scholars.1 Here I stress connections, events and achievements which are directly relevant to the lives of his wives and daughter. His experience of his close and extended family must have had a strong influence on him as husband and father.
