Appius Claudius Caecus

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Possible bust of Caecus, now in the Chiaramonti Museum in the Vatican.^[1][2]

Appius Claudius Caecus is led into the Curia Hostilia by his sons. 19th century painting by Cesare Maccari.

Memorial inscription of Appius Claudius C. F. Caecus, "Appius Claudius Caecus, son of Gaius."

Appius Claudius Caecus ("the blind"; fl. 312–279 BC) was an important statesman of the Roman Republic. He served as a Roman censor between 312 and 308, and then a consul twice, once in 307 and once in 296, dictator c. 285, he also served as a interrex three separate times. Appius Claudius Caecus is an integral part of Roman history due to the fact that he is the first Roman whose life can be traced with historical certainty.

Caecus' political highlight is his time as censor for five years, which was only supposed to last 18 months. During his time as a censor he built the first Roman road (the Via Appia) and the first aqueduct (the Aqua Appia). He also made several obscure constitutional reforms; he changed the organization of Roman tribes and admitted descendants of freedmen in to the electoral rolls. In addition, he was the first censor to draw the list of senators. These reforms massively increased the prestige of the censorship position, which before had only been a minor magistracy.

The first Roman road, the Via Appia

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, 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, and comparable to the Athenian Cleisthenes.

The first aqueduct, the Aqua Appia

Family background[]

Caecus, who was originally called Appius Claudius Crassus,^[3] was born into the patrician clan of the Claudii, one of the most important Roman families of the time, whose members had held executive offices of state since the beginning of the Republic. The family were widely described in Roman sources as haughty aristocrats with arch-conservative views,^[4] though this stereotype was likely only created long after Caecus's death.^[5] Caecus's father was called Gaius Claudius Inregillensis, known only for being appointed dictator in 337 BC and immediately resigning after the augurs had found a religious fault in his appointment.^[6][7][8]

His mother is not known, but he had a much younger brother, Appius Claudius Caudex, 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.^[9]

Early career[]

The only information known about Caecus' early career before his censorship is from his eulogy, formerly displayed on the Roman Forum. 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.^[10] The eulogy tells that he was the military tribune three times, the quaestor one time, and curule aedile two times. 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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 (326–304 BC), the main conflict in Italy at the time.^[11]

Censorship (312–308 BC)[]

Appius Claudius Caecus was a Roman censor from 308 BC to 312 BC, He was not a consul beforehand which later became a prerequisite for the office.^[12] During his time as censor he sought support from the lower classes, by allowing sons of freedmen to serve in the Senate, and extending voting privileges to men in the rural tribes who did not own land. During the Second Samnite War, he advocated the founding of Roman colonies (colonia) throughout Latium and Campania to serve as fortifications against the Samnites and Etruscans.

Appius is best known for two construction undertakings as censor: the Appian Way (Latin: Via Appia), the first major Roman road, running between Rome and Beneventum to the south; and the first aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Appia.^[13]

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 consul twice; in 307 BC and 296 BC, he was also appointed Dictator in 285 BC . Appius gave a famous speech in this period against Cineas, an envoy of Pyrrhus of Epirus, declaring that Rome would never surrender.^[14] This is the earliest known political speech in Latin, and is the source of the saying "every man is the architect of his own fortune" (Latin: quisque faber suae fortunae).^[15] In 279 BC Appius went blind due to a curse, according to Livy.

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".^[16] 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 and rhetoric, and instituted reforms in Latin orthography, allegedly ending the use of the letter Z.^[15]

Notable quotes[]

Every man is the architect of his own fortune. —Appius Claudius Caecus

Descendants[]

His four sons were (consul in 268), Publius Claudius Pulcher (consul in 249), Gaius Claudius Centho (consul in 240), and Tiberius Claudius Nero (grandfather of the consul of 202).

Appius Claudius Caecus is used in Cicero's Pro Caelio as a stern and disapproving ancestor to Clodia. Cicero assumes the voice of Caecus in a scathing prosopopoeia, where Caecus is incensed at Clodia for associating with Caelius, a member of the middle equestrian 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, Bibliotheca Historica.
• Fasti Capitolini, Fasti Triumphales.
• Livy, Ab Urbe Condita (English translation by Rev. Canon Roberts on Wikisource), Periochae (English translation by Jona Lendering on Livius.org).
• Valerius Maximus, Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium (English translation by Samuel Speed on EEBO).

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.
• Endre Ferenczy, “La carrière d’Appius Claudius Caecus jusqu’à la censure”, Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 13, 1965, p. 379–404.
• , "Römische und italische Porträts des 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr.", Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung, n°77, 1970, p. 59–66.
• Michel Humm, Appius Claudius Caecus, La République accomplie, Rome, Publications de l'École française de Rome, 2005.
• Münzer, Friedrich, "Claudius 91", Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (RE, PW), volume 3, part 2, columns 2681–2685 (Stuttgart, 1899).
• Friedrich Münzer, Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families, translated by Thérèse Ridley, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 (originally published in 1920).
• Oakley, S.P. (2005). A Commentary on Livy, Books VI–X, Volume III: Book IX. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-927143-7.
• Oakley, S.P. (2005). A Commentary on Livy, Books VI–X, Volume IV: Book X. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-927256-5.
• Lily Ross Taylor 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.
• Vasaly, Ann (1987). "Personality and Power: Livy's Depiction of the Appii Claudii in the First Pentad". Transactions of the American Philological Association. 117: 203–226. JSTOR 283967.
• Wiseman, T.P. (1979). Clio's Cosmetics: Three Studies in Greco-Roman Literature. Leicester University Press. ISBN 0-8476-6206-3.
• 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.

External links[]

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