Gens Claudia

How can your gens ancestor, Appius Claudius Caecus, inspire you to do great things? (Excerpted from 7th grade student ACES responses.)

• "...to take charge and try to lead a group..."

• "He saved a lot of lives by taking charge and not backing down."

• "...and speaking or doing what's right."

• "...by sticking up for what he and other people believed in."

• "...he was brave and persistent."

• "...he was a great soldier and leader and build many great things."

• "The road that he made was so well built that it was named after him and parts of it still exist."

• "...because of his explicit participation in the improvement of the government of Rome."

• "...being smart can be more useful than being strong."

• "...Appius did great things, like influence the Roman Senate..."

• "...when he was old and blind, he went to the Senate house and spoke against a treaty with the Greeks because he wanted Rome to be strong and not yield to the Greeks. This decision and speech helped boost the Roman Empire's expansion."

• "...no matter how hard something is, or who you are, you can always persevere like Appius Claudius Caecus."