and alluded to the persistent rumours of an incestuous relationship with Clodius. Cicero stated that he "would [attack Caelius' accusers] still more vigorously, if I had not a quarrel with that woman's [Clodia's] husband—brother, I meant to say; I am always making this mistake. At present I will proceed with moderation... for I have never thought it my duty to engage in quarrels with any woman, especially with one whom all men have always considered everybody's friend rather than any one's enemy." He declared her a disgrace to her family and nicknamed Clodia the Medea

Medea

Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...

 of the Palatine

Palatine Hill

The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...

. (Cicero's marriage to Terentia suffered from Terentia's persistent suspicions that Cicero was conducting an illicit affair with Clodia.)

After the trial of Caelius, in which Caelius was found not guilty, little or possibly nothing is heard of Clodia, and the date of her death is unknown. In 44 BC, Cicero refers to a Clodia. Either she or a sister was still alive in 44 BC, but the lack of female personal names (praenomina) in Latin makes it difficult to specify whether this refers to her or a sister.

Identification with Lesbia

The poet Catullus

Catullus

Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...

 wrote several love poems concerning a frequently unfaithful woman he called Lesbia

Lesbia

Lesbia was the literary pseudonym of the great love of Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus .She was a poet in her own right, included with Catullus in a list of famous poets whose lovers "often" helped them write their verses....

, identified in the mid-second century AD by the writer Apuleius

Apuleius

Apuleius was a Latin prose writer. He was a Berber, from Madaurus . He studied Platonist philosophy in Athens; travelled to Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt; and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the...

 (Apologia 10) as a "Clodia." This practice of replacing actual names with ones of identical metrical

Meter (poetry)

In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...

 value was not uncommon in Latin poetry of that era. In modern times, the resulting identification of Lesbia with Clodia Metelli, based largely on her portrayal by Cicero

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...

, is usually treated as accepted fact, despite occasional challenges. A recent article by the Roman historian Suzanne Dixon mounts a strong argument against not only the Lesbia/Clodia identification but also the notion that 'Lesbia' refers to a historical woman at all.

Clodia in popular culture

• Clodia makes several appearances in the Roma Sub Rosa
  Roma Sub Rosa
  Roma Sub Rosa is the title of the series of mystery novels by Steven Saylor set in, and populated by, noteworthy denizens of ancient Rome. The series is noted for its historical authenticity. The phrase "Roma Sub Rosa" means, in Latin, "Rome under the rose"...
  
  series of historical mystery novels by the American author Steven Saylor
  Steven Saylor
  Steven Saylor is an American author of historical novels. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and Classics....
  
  .
• Clodia plays a significant role in several books of the SPQR series
  SPQR series
  The SPQR series is a collection of detective stories by John Maddox Roberts set in the time of the Roman Republic. SPQR is a Latin initialism for Senatus Populusque Romanus , the official name of the Republic.The stories are told in first-person form by Senator Decius...
  
  by John Maddox Roberts
  John Maddox Roberts
  John Maddox Roberts is an author who has written many science fiction and fantasy novels, including his successful historical fiction, such as the SPQR series and Hannibal's Children....
  
  .
• Clodia also plays a significant role in the novel Lustrum
  Lustrum (novel)
  Lustrum is a 2009 novel by British author Robert Harris. It is the sequel to Imperium and the middle volume of a trilogy about the life of Cicero....
  
  (Conspirata in the US) by Robert Harris
  Robert Harris (novelist)
  Robert Dennis Harris is an English novelist. He is a former journalist and BBC television reporter.-Early life:Born in Nottingham, Harris spent his childhood in a small rented house on a Nottingham council estate. His ambition to become a writer arose at an early age, from visits to the local...
  
  , the second book (of a proposed trilogy) about the life of Cicero
  Cicero
  Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
  
  .
• Clodia plays a role in the Ides of March
  Ides of March (novel)
  The Ides of March is an epistolary novel by Thornton Wilder that was published in 1948. It is, in the author's words, 'a fantasia on certain events and persons of the last days of the Roman republic... Historical reconstruction is not among the primary aims of this work'...
  
  , an epistolary novel
  Epistolary novel
  An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
  
   by Thornton Wilder
  Thornton Wilder
  Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...
  
   covering the events leading to the assassination of Julius Caesar. The author describes Clodia's relationship with Catullus
  Catullus
  Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
  
   and suggests that Clodia's scandalous lifestyle is inspired by anger at the perceived hypocrisy of her upbringing and by being abused as a child.
• Historical Consultant Jonathan Stamp http://www.hbo.com/rome/cast/crew/jonathan_stamp.html of the HBO/BBC
  BBC
  The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
  
   series Rome
  Rome (TV series)
  Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
  
  identifies Clodia as the primary basis for the character of Atia of the Julii
  Atia of the Julii
  Atia of the Julii is a fictional character from the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series Rome, played by Polly Walker. The niece of Julius Caesar and mother of Octavian/Augustus and Octavia, she is depicted as a cheerfully amoral and opportunistic manipulator...
  
  . Little detail is known of the historical Atia Balba Caesonia.
• Clodia makes an appearance in Visceral Games
  Visceral Games
  Visceral Games is a video game development studio internally owned by Electronic Arts. They are perhaps best known for the critically acclaimed Dead Space series.-History:...
  
   2010 title Dante's Inferno (video game)
  Dante's Inferno (video game)
  Dante's Inferno is a 2010 action-adventure video game developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. The game was also released on the PlayStation Portable and was developed by Artificial Mind and Movement...
  
  . She is portrayed as a Damned Soul in the third circle of Hell, Gluttony, and the player may choose to Absolve or Punish her soul. She is described as: "A soul filled with grime and smut. The notorious gambler, seducer and drunkard of Rome, left a repulsive trail of rot in her wake."

Further reading

• English translations of Catullus' "Lesbia" poems
• Cicero's defence speeches: Pro Caelio
  Pro Caelio
  Marcus Tullius Cicero gave the speech, Pro Caelio, on April 4, 56 BC, in defense of Marcus Caelius Rufus. It is unknown why Cicero agreed to defend Caelius, who had been a political enemy, though various theories have been postulated. Caelius' was charged with vis , one of the most serious crimes...
  
  
• W.J. Tatum, The Patrician Tribune. Publius Clodius Pulcher, Chapel Hill 1999.
• L. Fezzi, Il tribuno Clodio, Roma-Bari 2008