Historically, patricians had more privileges and rights than plebeians. This difference in status became evident at the beginning of the Republic: patricians were better represented in Roman assemblies, only patricians could hold high political offices such as dictator, consul and censor, and all priesthoods (such as Pontifex Maximus) were closed to non-patricians. There was a belief that the patricians communicated better with the Roman gods so that only they could perform the sacred rites and take the omens. Moreover, patricians were not only of superior rank in political office, but also possessed the best lands of ancient Rome. [10] Having the best land would allow the patrician class to have more opportunities, such as the production of better agriculture. This view had political consequences, since at the beginning of the year or before a campaign, Roman magistrates consulted the gods. Livy reports that the first admission of plebeians to a priestly college took place in 300 BC. AD with the adoption of the Lex Ogulnia, when the College of Augurs increased their number from four to nine. After that, the plebeians were admitted to the other religious colleges.
At the end of the Republic, only priesthoods of limited political importance, such as the Salians, Flamines and Rex Sacrorum, were occupied exclusively by patricians. Many ancient patrician gentes, whose members appear in Rome`s founding legends, disappeared when Rome acquired its empire, and new plebeian families rose to prominence. A number of patrician families such as the Horatii, Lucretii, Verginii and Menenii rarely appear in important positions in the later Republic. Many ancient families had both patrician and plebeian branches, whose patrician lineages were often forgotten and overshadowed by their plebeian namesakes. The social structure of ancient Rome revolved around the distinction between patricians and plebeians. The status of the patricians gave them more political power than the plebeians. The relationship between the patricians and the plebeians eventually provoked the conflict of orders. This period led to a change in the social structure of ancient Rome.
The criteria for which Romulus chose certain men for this class remain controversial among scholars and historians, but the importance of the patrician/plebeian distinction is considered by all to be paramount to ancient Roman society. The distinction between the nobility, the patricians, and the Roman population, the plebeians, existed since the beginning of ancient Rome. [7] This distinction has become increasingly important in society. As the plebeians began to increasingly take control of their own government, some of them became dictators, a position that allowed an individual to assume supreme power when needed. Tiberius Gracchus, a 2nd century B.C. tribune whose mother was a patrician, proposed giving land to poor and unemployed peasants for free, an idea that was not very popular with many wealthy patricians in the Senate. Tiberius was killed along with 300 of his followers. His brother Gaius would do no better.
In 81 BC, Sylla, another tribune, came to power and also took the title of dictator. One of his first measures was to eliminate all opposition and execute more than 1500 patricians, although some chose to commit suicide to allow their families to retain their wealth; an executed person would have ceded all the wealth to Sylla. A number of other gentes originally belonged to the patricians, but were best known for their plebeian branches. A marriage between a patrician and a plebeian was the only way to legally integrate the two classes. However, once the Twelve Tablets were written, a law was written that made marriage between the two classes illegal. [14] If a marriage were concluded between a patrician and a plebeian, the children of that marriage would receive patrician status. This law was created to prevent classes from mixing. In ancient Rome, women had no power in the household. According to Mathisen, however, it was important to have a recognized marriage, so as not to marry illegally in the other class. [14] A legally recognized marriage guaranteed that the children of the marriage received Roman citizenship and all property they could inherit. [14] Among the patricians, some families were known as gentes maiores, the largest or perhaps noblest houses. The other patrician families were called gentes minores.
It is not known whether this distinction had any legal significance, but it has been suggested that the princeps senatus or president of the Senate was traditionally elected from among the gentes maiores. During the empire (after 27 BC), patrician rank was a prerequisite for accession to the throne, and only the emperor could create patricians. For the continuation of the old priesthood, patricians had few privileges, except reduced military obligations. After the reign of Constantine (306-337), Patricius became a personal, non-hereditary honorific title, third only to emperors and consuls, but the title conferred no special powers. Eventually, the plebeians became dissatisfied with being the lower class and not having the same rights and privileges as the patricians. [15] This period of Roman history is called the religious conflict, which took place between 500 and 287 BC. [15] Since the patricians had political status, the plebeian class had no representation in government to defend its interests. [15] The fact that no one defended their interests also meant that the plebeians did not know the laws they had to follow. [15] As the patricians had a high social status, they did not want to lose this status; They did not agree to change the structure of society by giving more status to the plebeians. [15] Eventually, the plebeian class met and created its own governing body, the Council of the Plebs. [15] .
A tribune of the people presented a law on mixed marriages of patricians and plebeians. The patricians assumed that their blood would be contaminated and that the special rights of the houses would be confused. Then the plebeians. introduced a measure authorizing the people to elect consuls at will from among plebeians or patricians. The patricians believed that if this were achieved, the supreme power would not only be degraded. but would pass entirely from the highest men of state into the hands of the plebs.