Fronto (Marcus Cornelius Fronto) [key], fl. 2d cent., Roman teacher and rhetorician, b. Numidia, Africa. Antoninus Pius made him consul in 143. A successful teacher and government official, Fronto was an admirer of the early Latin writers and tried unsuccessfully to bring about a renaissance. His extant correspondence (2 vol, 1919–20, Loeb Classical Library) with Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, Emperor Antoninus Pius, and others, is invaluable for insights into imperial life.
See also E. Champlin, Fronto and Antonine Rome (1980).
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