publiusclodiuspulcher

**Publius Clodius Pulcher ** **by: Phoebe Krisinski**

**Who was he?** Publius Clodius Pulcher, Clodius for short, was a politician during Caesar’s reign. He was a colorful character who was notorious for his self-centered, corrupt politics and sexual scandals. He abused his power to get back at his rivals and made laws to condemn specific people whom he disliked.

**Sexual Scandals:** Clodius became a name to remember in Rome because of sexual scandals. In 66 BC, Clodius was caught having incestuous relations with his sister. His brother in law Lucullus found out upon returning home and divorced her. In 62 BC the infamous Bona Dea scandal happened in Caesars residence in Regia. Clodius, bored with his wife Fulvia and looking for trouble, sought an affair with Caesars wife Pompeia. He dressed in women's clothing and attended the [|rites of Bona Dea], which were held at Caesars home that year. In attempting to find Pompeia he was caught when a servant heard him speak and recognized his voice as male. The scandal was dragged out for months and ultimately caused Caesar to divorce his wife. Strangely enough after the scandal, Caesar still offered Clodius his political support, for which Clodius was extremely grateful. His enemies, however ceased the opportunity and tried to destroy his political career. Clodius had several political enemies who tried to bring him down. The list of names included; Lucullus, Cicero, and sometimes Pompey. His politics were marked by laws that personally attacked some of these enemies.

**Rise to Power:** Clodius was first //[|Quaestor]// in Sicily between 61 and 60 BC. Bored with this position, and thirsty for more power, he wished to hold a position of power within the plebs. Unfortunately because he was a patrician he was not allowed to hold a position. However, rules seldom stopped this man. In 59 BC, during Caesar’s first consulship he was able to illegally title himself as a plebian by being “adopted” by a man named P.Fonteius. The process of adoption violated most of the rules of Rome, but successfully stayed under the radar. This sneaky transfer of status symbolized Clodius’s corrupt governing style. In order to “mark” his change in clan he changed the spelling of his name from Claudius to Clodius. His main goal was to get power, and to get it fast. With Caesars support he was able to become tribune of the plebs in 58 BC. Because there was a grain shortage at this time, it is said that he bribed the people with promises of wheat.

**Tribune:** Upon becoming tribune he enacted a law that made it illegal to execute Romans without a trial. The main purpose of the law was to get back at his enemy Cicero who had done so four years earlier. Because of the law, Clodius did everything he could to get Cicero exiled, therefore he was. He also used his power to get Cicero’s property taken away. Another law he put in place terminated the kingship of a Pharaoh in Cyprus. In addition, Clodius used his power to cleverly hand the power of Cyprus over to[| Cato, a nemesis of Caeser], to get him out of Ceasers way. Clodius abused his power in order to doom the ones he hated and make political advances. Unfortunately for Clodius, in 57 BC Cicero, his main enemy, was allowed to return to Rome from exile. Clodius had put alot of work inot eliminating him and was very angered by this. He confronted Caeser, who seemed to have sided with Pompey and didnt mind the return of Cicero. Because of his stubborn nature, Clodius had a falling out with Caeser after this and therefore lost his support. He went on to serve as curule aedile for the Plebs, and was eventually a candidate for praetor in 52 BC. After the upset over the return of Cicero however, he spent most of his days fighting Milo.

**Gang Violence:** When Clodius's law caused Cicero to be exiled it angered Pompey. Pompey brought up a gang lead by Titus Annius Milo to attack Clodius, who inturn had his own street gang. As [|curule aedile], Clodius used his political power to attempt to try Milo for public violence. The two gangs caused violence all over Rome during the 50's of BC. In fact, Clodius's death was a result of this persistant gang rivalry. On January 16th the two gangs came face to face on the Appian Way and rumbled. Clodius was killed, loosing his candidacy for praetorship.

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