Appius Claudius Caecus

Appius Claudius Caecus
Possible bust of Caecus, now in the Chiaramonti Museum in the Vatican.[1][2]
Born	Appius Claudius Crassus
Nationality	Roman
Office	Censor (312–307 BC) Consul (307, 296 BC) Praetor (295 BC) Dictator (c. 285 BC)
Children	9

Appius Claudius Caecus (fl. c. 312–279 BC) was a statesman and writer from the Roman Republic. He is best known for two major building projects: the Appian Way (Latin: Via Appia), the first major Roman road, and the first aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Appia.

He is the first Roman public figure whose life can be traced with some historical certainty. He also instigated controversial popular-minded reforms and 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.^[3][4][5]

A

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, comparable to Athenian figures like Cleisthenes and Pericles.^[6]

Family background

Caecus, who was originally called Appius Claudius Crassus,^[7] 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,^[8] though this stereotype was likely only created long after Caecus's death.^[9] 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.^[10][11][12]

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.^[13]

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.^[14] The eulogy tells that he was the military tribune three times, the quaestor one time, and curule aedile 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

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

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".[20] 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.^{[19][failed verification]}

Notable quotes

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

Descendants

His four sons were