biography
| name: |
Claudius, Appius
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| |
nickname Caecus (‘the blind’)
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pronunciation:
[klohdius]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (4th–3rd-c BC)
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| biography:
| Aristocratic Roman statesman, general, and law-giver, the first clear-cut figure in Roman history. His fame rests primarily on his great reforming censorship (c.312–307 BC), during which he opened up the political process to the lower orders, and inaugurated a number of life-enhancing public projects at Rome, such as the building of the city's first aqueduct, the Aqua Appia, and Rome's first trunk road, the Appian Way. A fervent expansionist, he fought in many of Rome's early wars. He was regarded by the Romans as the father of Latin prose and oratory. He became blind in his old age, hence his byname. |
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