Gnaeus Flavius was the son of a freedman

Freedman

A freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....

 (libertinus) and rose to the office of aedile

Aedile

Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...

 in the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

.

Flavius was secretary (scriba

Scriba (ancient Rome)

In ancient Rome, the scriba was a public notary or clerk . The public scribes were the highest in rank of the four prestigious occupational grades among the apparitores, the attendants of the magistrates who were paid from the state treasury...

) to the consul

Roman consul

A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...

 Appius Claudius

Appius Claudius Caecus

Appius Claudius Caecus was a Roman politician from a wealthy patrician family. He was dictator himself and the son of Gaius Claudius Crassus, dictator in 337 BC.-Life:...

, a civil service

Civil service

The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....

 job paid from the public treasury

Aerarium

Aerarium was the name given in Ancient Rome to the public treasury, and in a secondary sense to the public finances....

. The position allowed him to gain a thorough knowledge of Roman law

Roman law

Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...

, which had traditionally been a prerogative of the elite. He became the first person to publish an account of legal procedures ("actions in law" or legis actiones).

As a result of his high profile, he was elected aedile for 304 BC, one of two magistrates

Roman Magistrates

The Roman Magistrates were elected officials in Ancient Rome. During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate. His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest, lawgiver, judge, and the sole commander of the army...

 responsible for the maintenance of public buildings, purchase of grain, and regulation of festivals, despite the fact that at the time the sons of freedmen were also regarded merely as libertini. His election shocked the traditional governing elite into enacting voter registration

Voter registration

Voter registration is the requirement in some democracies for citizens and residents to check in with some central registry specifically for the purpose of being allowed to vote in elections. An effort to get people to register is known as a voter registration drive.-Centralized/compulsory vs...

 "reforms" designed to curtail the growing voting power of freedmen in Rome. As aedile, Flavius also displayed in the Forum

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...

 a calendar indicating the dies fasti

Fasti

In ancient Rome, the fasti were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events...

, those days on which legal business was permitted.