Appius Claudius Caecus

Caecus belonged to the patrician gens Claudia, one of the most important families of the Republic, which counted prominent men from its beginning to the Roman Empire. His exact relationship with the Claudii of the fifth century is uncertain as there is some doubt on their career, but Caecus was certainly a descendant of Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis Sabinus, consul in 495 and semi-legendary founder of the gens.[3] This man's son was perhaps consul in 471 and the leading member of the Decemvirate in 451;[4] his brother was consul in 460,[5] and his son and grandson were respectively consular tribunes in 424 and 403.[6] Livy describes them in a stereotypical fashion as haughty aristocrats with arch-conservative views.[7]

The Claudii were however in decline in the fourth century, and only two of them are recorded before Caecus. Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis—Caecus' grandfather—was dictator in 362 and consul in 349; he died during his last office.[8][9] Caecus' father, Gaius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis was dictator in 337, but had to resign immediately because the augurs had found a 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]

Caecus' early career before his censorship is only known from his eulogy, formerly displayed on the 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 military tribune three times, one time quaestor, and curule aedile two times. These junior magistracies were standard in the career of every Roman politician, but the iterations are—at first sight—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 Second Samnite War (326–304 BC), the main conflict in Italy at the time.[15]

Appius Claudius Caecus was a censor in 312 BC, although he had not previously been consul which later was effectively a prerequisite for the office.[16] He sought support from the lower classes, 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 undertakings he began 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.[17] He also supported Gnaeus Flavius, who published for the first time a list of legal procedures and the legal calendar, knowledge of which, until that time, had been reserved for the pontifices, a college of priests.

He later served as consul twice, in 307 BC and 296 BC, and in 292 BC and 285 BC he was appointed Dictator. According to Livy, he had gone blind because of a curse. In 279,[18] he gave a famous speech against Cineas, an envoy of Pyrrhus of Epirus, declaring that Rome would never surrender.[19] 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).[20]

His four sons were Appius Claudius Russus (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.

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