clodia metelli

Clodia Metelli was born in 95 BC to patrician Quintus Metellus Celer, whose family would become known for their political and military significance and power and then ended up marrying her first cousin Q. Caecilius Metellus Celer (OCD). This marriage however was reported to be quite the scandal and the death of Caecilius would set up the stage for her later reputation as a controversial and prominent figure in society. Men such as Cicero and Catullus wrote much of this lady and clearly had some infatuation or delusions of more. She was quite the catch apparently as an affair with Catullus is written about in great depth, using the name Lesbia as a false name for Clodia (Hejduk 107). "Let us live, my Lesbia and let us love, and let us calculate all the mutterings of curmudgeonly old cots to be worth one cent" (Hejduk 111). My, my, my  looks like someone was admired, I wish. This portrayal of being desirable but also controversial mirrors the image of Rome at the time highlights Clodia as a prominent figure. But wait there was more, Clodia had also taken Marcus Caelius Rufus, Catullus's friend as a lover. The relationship ended in 56 BC to which Clodia accused him attempted poison and lead to a murder charge and trial (Skinner 87). At the trial Clodia was accused of being a seducer and a drunk which challenged the extreme traditional roles of women. GO HER! She too wrote poetry and presented feminist ideals and would considers what it means for a woman to write (Lewis). I personally think the life of Clodia while filled with gossip and the opinions of others, allowed her to live a serendipitous  life.