The gens Claudia, sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis, in 495 BC, and from that time its members frequently held the highest offices of the state, both under the Republic and in imperial times.
Tiberius Caesar Augustus, second Roman emperor
Claudius, fourth Roman emperor
Denarius of Publius Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus, 50 BC, honouring his ancestor Claudius Marcellus, portrayed on the obverse. The triskeles behind his head alludes to his capture of Syracuse in 212 BC. The reverse shows him putting his spolia opima into a temple. The legend COS QVINQ refers to his five consulships.
The patricians were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders. By the time of the late Republic and Empire, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance. The social structure of ancient Rome revolved around the distinction between the patricians and the plebeians. The status of patricians gave them more political power than the plebeians, but the relationship between the groups eventually caused the Conflict of the Orders. This time period resulted in changing of the social structure of ancient Rome.
Romulus and his brother, Remus, with the she-wolf. Romulus is credited with creating the patrician class.
