plebeians

Examples of plebeians in the following topics:

• Roman Society Under the Republic

  • The new offices that were created as a result came to be known as “plebeian tribunes”, and they were to be assisted by “plebeian aediles”.
  • Tribunes and aediles were technically not magistrates since they were only elected by fellow plebeians as opposed to the unified population of plebeians and patricians.
  • Although a small number of plebeians had achieved the same standing as the patrician families of the past, new plebeian aristocrats were less interested in the plight of the average plebeian than the old patrician aristocrats.
  • But by 287 BCE, the economic conditions of the plebeians deteriorated as a result of widespread indebtedness, and the plebeians sought relief.
  • Roman senators, most of whom were also creditors, refused to give in to the plebeians’ demands, resulting in the first plebeian secession to Janiculum Hill.

• Structure of the Republic

  • The Plebeian Council was identical to the assembly of the tribes, but excluded the patricians.
  • They elected their own officers, plebeian tribunes, and plebeian aediles.
  • Usually a plebeian tribune would preside over the assembly.
  • Since the tribunes were considered to be the embodiment of the plebeians, they were sacrosanct.
  • Plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles were considered representatives of the people and acted as a popular check over the Senate through use of their veto powers, thus safeguarding the civil liberties of all Roman citizens.

• Crises of the Republic

  • The first century BCE saw tensions between patricians and plebeians erupt into violence as the Republic became increasingly more divided and unstable.
  • They wished to limit the power of the popular assemblies and the Tribune of the Plebeians and to extend the power of the Senate, which was viewed as more dedicated to the interests of the aristocrats.
  • Following a period of great military successes and economic failures of the early republican period, many plebeian calls for reform among the classes had been quieted.
  • Tiberius Gracchus took office as a tribune of the plebeians in late 134 BCE.
  • About nine years later, Tiberius Gracchus's younger brother, Gaius, passed more radical reforms in favor of the poorer plebeians.

• Ostia

  • The city of Ostia represents a more typical urban-dwelling existence for Roman plebeians.
  • The Isola Sacra provides insight into plebeian art and funerary practices during the second and third centuries CE.

• Early Roman Society

  • The most important division within Roman society was between patricians, a small elite who monopolized political power, and plebeians, who comprised the majority of Roman society.
  • Originally, all public offices were only open to patricians and the classes could not intermarry, but, over time, the differentiation between patrician and plebeian statuses became less pronounced, particularly after the establishment of the Roman republic.
  • Most freed slaves joined the lower plebeian classes, and worked as farmers or tradesmen, though as time progressed and their numbers increased, many were also accepted into the equestrian class.

• Roman Society

  • Roman society consisted of patricians, equites (equestrians, or knights), plebeians, and slaves.
  • In the beginning of the Roman republic, plebeians could neither intermarry with patricians or hold elite status, but this changed by the Late Republic, when the plebeian-born Octavian rose to elite status and eventually became the first emperor.

• Roman Sculpture under the Republic

  • Its sculpted frieze is a classic example of the "plebeian style" in Roman sculpture.
  • Because the wearing of togas was not conducive to manual labor, the simple clothing on the figures marks them as plebeians, or commoners.

• The Antonines

  • The figures on the decursio relief are stockier and in a style more commonly seen in the plebeian art of this time.

• Founding of the Roman Empire

  • Born Gaius Octavius, Octavian was from an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian Octavii family.

• The Establishment of the Roman Republic

  • In order to rally the plebeians to their cause, all were summoned to a legal assembly in the forum and Lucretia’s body was paraded through the streets.