Clodia
Clodia, born
Claudia Pulchra Tercia circa 95 BC, was the third daughter of the
patrician Appius Claudius Pulcher and
Caecilia Metella Balearica. She is not to be confused with her niece,
Clodia Pulchra, who was briefly married to
Octavian.
Despite being a woman, Clodia was very well educated in
Greek and
Philosophy, with a special talent for writing
poetry. But she shared the recklessness of her younger brother, the political agitator
Publius Clodius. Her life, immortalized in the poems of
Gaius Valerius Catullus and the writings of
Marcus Tullius Cicero, was lived in perpetual scandal.
Clodia was married as a young girl to
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer, her first cousin. Along with Clodius, she changed her patrician name to Clodia, with a
plebeian connotation. The
marriage was not a happy one. Clodia engaged in several affairs with married men and
slaves, becoming at the same time a notorious
gambler and
drinker. Discussions with Metellus Celer were constant, often in public situations. When Metellus Celer died in strange circumstances in
59 BC, Clodia was suspected of
poisoning her husband.
As a
widow, Clodia became known as a merry one. Around
60 BC, her favourite lover was the poet Catullus. Madly in love with her, Catullus wrote several poems about his feelings towards
Lesbia, the name he gave her. (Lesbia is widely believed to refer to Clodia, but there has been some debate on this point.) From the poems, the reader can understand that the relationship was not an exclusive one. Clodia maintained several other lovers, including
Marcus Caelius Rufus, Catullus' friend. This particular affair would cause an immense scandal. After the relationship with Caelius was over in
56 BC, Clodia publicly accused him of attempted poisoning. The accusation led to a
murder charge and
trial. Caelius' defence
lawyer was Cicero, who took a harsh approach against her, recorded in his speech
Pro Caelio. Cicero had a personal interest in the case, as her brother
Publius Clodius was Cicero's most bitter political enemy. Among other things, Clodia was accused of being a
seducer and a drunkard in
Rome and in
Baiae, as well as committing
incest with her brother Publius. He declared her a disgrace to her family and nicknamed Clodia the
Medea of the
Palatine.
After the trial of Caelius, in which Caelius was found not guilty, Clodia disappears from the sources. Presumably, this scandal was too much for her family to digest, removing her from Roman public life. The date of her death is unknown.
* Clodia makes several appearances in the
Roma Sub Rosa series of historical mystery novels by the American author
Steven Saylor.
*
Women in Rome*
English translations of Catullus' "Lesbia" poems* Cicero's defence speeches:
Pro Caelio
