Appius Claudius Caecus ( 312–279 BC) was a statesman and writer from the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

. The first Roman public figure whose life can be traced with some historical certainty, Caecus was responsible for the building of Rome's first

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

(the

Appian Way The Appian Way (Latin and Italian language, Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient Roman Republic, republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is ...

) and first aqueduct (the

Aqua Appia The Aqua Appia was the first Roman aqueduct, constructed in 312 BC by the co-censors Gaius Plautius Venox and Appius Claudius Caecus, the same Roman censor who also built the important Via Appia. The Appia fed the city of Rome with an estimate ...

), as well as instigating controversial popular-minded reforms. He is also credited with the authorship of a juristic treatise, a collection of moral essays, and several poems, making him one of Rome's earliest literary figures. A

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

of illustrious lineage, Caecus first came to prominence with his election to the position of censor in 312 BC, which he held for five years. During Caecus's time in office, aside from his building projects, he introduced several controversial but poorly-understood constitutional reforms: he increased the voting power of the poor and landless in the legislative assemblies, and admitted lower-class citizens to the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

, though these measures were partially undone by the resentful nobility. In addition, Caecus was the first censor to draw up a formal list of senators. These reforms massively increased the prestige of the censorship, which had previously only been a minor magistracy. As

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

(296 BC) and then

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

(295 BC), Caecus led military campaigns against the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...

and

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they for ...

. Later in life, having become blind ( la, caecus, whence the surname) from old age, he delivered a speech to the Senate successfully opposing peace with the

Epirote Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των � ...

king Pyrrhus. His reforms did trigger some outrage, as he broke a number of established traditions. Appius embroiled himself in several bitter political feuds, especially with the Fabii (a powerful Roman family).

Fabius Pictor Quintus Fabius Pictor (born BC, BC) was the earliest known Roman historian. His history, written in Greek and now mostly lost besides some surviving fragments, was highly influential on ancient writers and certainly participated in introducing Gre ...

, who was the earliest Roman historian and a member of the Fabian family, may have been the source for a significant amount of smear against Caecus, accusing him of being a corrupted, immoral demagogue, and an inept general. Owing to the wide divergence in the sources, modern scholars have had very different interpretations of Caecus' deeds: he has been described as a revolutionary, a reactionary, a would-be tyrant, or a great reformer, comparable to Athenian figures like

Cleisthenes Cleisthenes ( ; grc-gre, Κλεισθένης), or Clisthenes (c. 570c. 508 BC), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishm ...

and

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelo ...

Family background

Caecus, who was originally called Appius Claudius Crassus, was born into the

clan of the

Claudii The gens Claudia (), sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius ...

, one of the most important Roman families of the time, whose members had held executive offices of state since the beginning of the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

. The family were widely described in Roman sources as haughty aristocrats with arch-conservative views, though this stereotype was likely only created long after Caecus's death. Caecus's father was called Gaius Claudius Inregillensis, known only for being appointed

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

in 337 BC and immediately resigning after the augurs had found a religious fault in his appointment. His mother is not known, but he had a much younger brother,

Appius Claudius Caudex Appius Claudius Caudex ( 264 BC) was a Roman politician. He was the younger brother of Appius Claudius Caecus, and served as consul in 264 BC. In that year, he drew Rome into conflict with Carthage over possession of Sicily. In 265 BC, Hiero II of ...

, who became consul in 264, four years after Caecus' elder son. Since Caecus' sons became consuls over a period of 28 years and long after his own time, he probably married at least twice, even though none of his wives is known.

Early career

The only information known about Caecus' early career before his censorship is from his eulogy, formerly displayed on the Roman

Forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

. This summary of his career lists all the responsibilities he held, including some junior offices, while literary sources only record upper magistracies (censor, consul, and praetor); however it does not provide any date and the offices are not ordered chronologically.Ferenczy, "La carrière d'Appius jusqu'à la censure", p. 381. The eulogy tells that he was the

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone to ...

three times, the

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

one time, and

curule aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

twice. These junior magistracies were standard and found in the career of every Roman politician, but the number of times he held these positions is much more unusual. Endre Ferenczy thought Caecus held them all before his censorship because of his family's decline, which forced him to repeat them to build his popularity (especially as aedile, because this magistrate organised games), therefore explaining his early censorship. However, his thesis has been criticised, notably by Stephen Oakley, who notes that there is not enough evidence to know whether iterations of the military tribuneship and aedileship were really exceptional for this period, during which most careers are unknown. It is nonetheless certain that Caecus was military tribune before his censorship, because it was a requirement for being elected consul, which he became immediately after his censorship. As military tribune, he certainly served during the

Second Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

(326–304 BC), the main conflict in Italy at the time.

Censorship (312–308 BC)

Appius Claudius Caecus was a

Roman censor The censor (at any time, there were two) was a magistrate in ancient Rome who was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances. The power of the censor was abso ...

from 312 BC to 308 BC, He was not a

beforehand which later became a prerequisite for the office. During his time as censor he sought support from the lower classes, by allowing sons of

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...

to serve in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and extending voting privileges to men in the rural tribes who did not own land. During the

, he advocated the founding of Roman colonies ('' colonia'') throughout

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

and

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

to serve as fortifications against the

and

. Appius is best known for two construction undertakings as censor: the

( la, Via Appia), the first major Roman road, running between

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and Beneventum to the south; and the first aqueduct in

, the

Legal contributions

Appius' major legal contribution came from him starting the publication of ''legis actiones'' (“methods of legal practice”). This publication served as a guide for Roman Legal procedure. The publication also included a list of days that court was to be held on.

Later career (307–280 BC)

During this time period he served as

twice; in 307 BC and 296 BC, he was also appointed

Dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...

in 285 BC . Appius gave a famous speech in this period against

Cineas Cineas ( el, Κινέας) was a man from Thessaly and an important adviser of King Pyrrhus. He had a reputation for great wisdom and was a pupil of Demosthenes the orator and was the only man who could be compared in skill with Demosthenes. Py ...

, an envoy of

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. '' Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he be ...

, declaring that Rome would never surrender.James Grout: ''Appius Claudius Caecus and the Letter Z'', part of the Encyclopædia Romana
/ref> The speech is the source of the saying "every man is the architect of his own fortune" (Latin: ''quisque faber suae fortunae''), and was still known in the time of Cicero In 279 BC, Appius went blind due to a curse, according to

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

Literary output

Appius wrote several books over his life. He wrote a book called ''Sententiae'', which was based upon a verse of Greek model. It was "the first Roman book of literary character".Boak, Arthur E. R. & Sinnigen, William G. ''History of Rome to A.D. 565''. 5th Edition. The Macmillan Company, 1965. Print. pg. 95 Appius also wrote treatise, ''De Usurpationibus ("Concerning Usurpations"),'' which is lost and the content is unknown. In addition Appius was one of the earliest known Roman prose and verse authors whose name is still known today. He was also concerned with

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

, and instituted reforms in Latin

orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and mos ...

, allegedly ending the use of the letter Z.

Notable quotes

"Every man is the artifex of his destiny" (''Homo faber suae quisque fortunae'')

Descendants

His four sons were Appius Claudius Russus (consul in 268), Publius Claudius Pulcher (consul in 249),

Gaius Claudius Centho Gaius Claudius Centho or Cento was a 3rd-century BC member of a prominent and wealthy patrician Roman Republican family. He was the third son of Appius Claudius Caecus, and a member of the Claudii. He was consul in the year 240 BC. He was Roman cen ...

(consul in 240), and Tiberius Claudius Nero (grandfather of the consul of 202). Appius Claudius Caecus is used in

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

's ''

Pro Caelio ''Pro Caelio'' is a speech given on 4 April 56 BC, by the famed Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero in defence of Marcus Caelius Rufus, who had once been Cicero's student but more recently was a political rival. Cicero's reasons for defending Cael ...

'' as a stern and disapproving ancestor to

Clodia Clodius is an alternate form of the Roman '' nomen'' Claudius, a patrician '' gens'' that was traditionally regarded as Sabine in origin. The alternation of ''o'' and ''au'' is characteristic of the Sabine dialect. The feminine form is Clodia. R ...

. Cicero assumes the voice of Caecus in a scathing ''

prosopopoeia A prosopopoeia ( grc-gre, προσωποποιία, ) is a rhetorical device in which a speaker or writer communicates to the audience by speaking as another person or object. The term literally derives from the Greek roots "face, person", and ...

'', where Caecus is incensed at Clodia for associating with Caelius, a member of the middle

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

class instead of the upper patrician class. Caecus's achievements, such as the building of the Appian Way and the Aqua Appia, are mentioned as being defiled by Clodia's actions.

Family tree of Appius Caecus

References

Bibliography

Ancient sources

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, ''

Bibliotheca Historica ''Bibliotheca historica'' ( grc, Βιβλιοθήκη Ἱστορική, ) is a work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, ...

''. *''

Fasti Capitolini The ''Fasti Capitolini'', or Capitoline Fasti, are a list of the chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, extending from the early fifth century BC down to the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Together with similar lists found at Rom ...

'', ''

Fasti Triumphales The ''Acta Triumphorum'' or ''Triumphalia'', better known as the ''Fasti Triumphales'', or Triumphal Fasti, is a calendar of Roman magistrates honoured with a celebratory procession known as a ''triumphus'', or triumph, in recognition of an impor ...

''. *

, ''

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an exp ...

'' ( English translation by Rev. Canon Roberts on Wikisource), ''Periochae''
English translation
by

Jona Lendering Jona Lendering (born 29 October 1964) is a Dutch historian and the author of books on antiquity, Dutch history and modern management. He has an MA in history from Leiden University and an MA in Mediterranean culture from the Amsterdam Free Unive ...

on Livius.org). *

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

, ''

Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia'') by Valerius Maximus (c. 20 BC – c. AD 50) was written arou ...

''
English translation
by Samuel Speed on

EEBO The Text Creation Partnership (TCP) is a not-for-profit organization based in the library of the University of Michigan . Its purpose is to produce large-scale full-text electronic resources (especially in the humanities) on behalf of both member i ...

Modern sources

* John Briscoe, ''Valerius Maximus, Facta et dicta memorabilia, Book 8 Text, Introduction, and Commentary'', Berlin/Boston, De Gruyter, 2019. * T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association, 1951–1952. * * German Hafner, "Römische und italische Porträts des 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr.", ''Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung'', n°77, 1970, p. 59–66. * * *

Friedrich Münzer Friedrich Münzer (22 April 1868 – 20 October 1942) was a German classical scholar noted for the development of prosopography, particularly for his demonstrations of how family relationships in ancient Rome connected to political struggles. He d ...

, ''Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families'', translated by Thérèse Ridley, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 (originally published in 1920). * * *

Lily Ross Taylor Lily Ross Taylor (born August 12, 1886, in Auburn, Alabama - died November 18, 1969, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) was an American academic and author, who in 1917 became the first female Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. Biography Born in ...

and T. Robert S. Broughton, "The Order of the Two Consuls' Names in the Yearly Lists", ''Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome'', 19 (1949), pp. 3–14. * * *The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, "Appius Claudius Caecus", Encyclopædia Britannica, 1998 *Humm, M. (n.d.). Les sources littéraires sur Appius Claudius Caecus. ''Appius Claudius Caecus,'' 35–97. doi:10.4000/books.efr.1609 *Overview Appius Claudius Caecus (fl. 312 - 279), Oxford Reference *Ratcliffe, S. (n.d.). ''Oxford Essential Quotations, 2012-01-01''. *Loud, G. A. (2010). ''The crusade of Frederick Barbarossa: The history of the expedition of the emperor Frederick and related texts''. Farnham: Ashgate. {{DEFAULTSORT:Claudius Caecus, Appius 4th-century BC Roman consuls 3rd-century BC Roman consuls 3rd-century BC Roman generals 3rd-century BC Roman praetors Blind politicians Caecus, Appius Latin writers known only from secondary sources Old Latin-language writers Roman censors Ancient Roman dictators Ancient Roman jurists Roman patricians