Greek and Roman Civilization

University of the People

 Introduction

Patricians were the lead and ruling class of early Rome. They were the only ones that could run for

office and be generals. They would make the laws and have all the power in their hands.

A patrician born patrician, a plebeian could not become patrician in any way, so they were closed

social class.

Obviously, patricians were a small percentage of the population and held all the power in their

hands. Like nobles in Greece. This means that Rome was more like an aristocracy.

Plebeians were the common people. A plebeian could not become a Patrician, so he could never run

from an office or be a general.

Plebeians had to serve in the army, but only as simple soldiers. They were most of the time farmers,

craftsmen, and, laborers.

They do not have any rights, and they were at the mercy of patricians.

The Revolts

Mainly for the reasons listed before, no representation, no political weight, and no higher

positions in the army. Plebeians start to revolt.

There is not a single revolt of plebeians. They acquire rights for centuries with little revolt,

which only a few times really destabilized Rome.

They often start to refuse to work, or they refuse to go to war. Every time they get

something from the patricians.

The rigths

The first rights that the plebeians got, were that they could run for every office.
This could be seen as a big victory, but it was not. The problem is that public officials do not

comprehend a wage. So only patricians, and few plebeians, could think of running for public office.

Tribunes of the plebs was an office created to check on the power of the Roman Senate. Tribunes of

plebes were very powerful, their powers changed during the years, but they were one of the most

useful ways to veto the decision of the Patricians. Patrician could not run for this office.

Tribunes were often hated by Patricians, that often tried to kill them. Caesar was one of the famous

tribunes, but there were plenty of them.

Tribunes were often prominent personalities and they were often also generals, this helped because

those who control the army have always a great power.

The last achievement of the plebians was the Plebian Council. In this council could sit only plebian,

patrician was not allowed.

This council was more powerful than the Senate itself, because it could veto all the decisions of the

Senate, and the laws created by the council have more power.

If a law of the council said one thing and a law of the senate said another, the law of the senate did

not have value.

This council was the most important office for the plebians because they now could not only veto

the Senate but also create their own laws.

Conclusion

The plebians, after centuries, had the same rights as the patricians. This was an outstanding result

since they transform an oligarchy into a democracy without wars.

Unfortunately, Caesar and Agust, end the democracy by becoming for-life dictators and emperors.

This happens because plebeians could not handle the power that they acquire.
 REFERENCES

Ancient rome. Ducksters. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2022, from

https://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_rome/plebeians_and_patricians.php