Appius was the son of Attius Clausus, a wealthy Sabine merchant who emigrated to Rome with a large following in 504 BC, and was admitted to the patriciate under the name of Appius Claudius Sabinus. The elder Claudius became a senator, and held the consulship in 495; he distinguished himself as the leading figure in the aristocratic party, and the fiercest opponent of the plebeians. He had at least two sons: Appius, the consul of 471, and Gaius, who was consul in 460. The younger Appius is usually regarded as the father ofAppius Claudius Crassus, the decemvir, and is so described by both Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. However, in the Capitoline Fasti, the decemvir is described as consul for the second time in BC 451, and is given the filiationAp. f. M. n., explicitly identifying him with the consul of 471. If the two men were the same, instead of father and son, then the decemvir must have been an older man, since he had been a candidate for the consulship in 482, and was thus probably born before 510 BC; but Livy calls Appius the youngest of the decemvirs, and he is generally supposed to have been the father of Appius Claudius Crassus, consular tribune in 424 BC. In addition, Appius, the consul of 471, was well known for his severity and hatred of the plebeians; while Appius the decemvir was thought to be mild and fair toward the plebeians, until his true nature was revealed during the second year of the decemvirate. The matter cannot be definitively answered at this time.
Career
Appius was a candidate for the consulship of 482 BC, but his election was blocked by the tribunes of the plebs. Nine years later, the patricians succeeded in electing him consul, with the goal of preventing the law proposed by the tribune Volero Publilius, transferring the election of the tribunes of the plebs from the comitia curiata to the comitia tributa. Appius' colleague was Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus. On the day appointed for the election, the consuls, a number of senators of consular rank, and other members of the Roman aristocracy attempted to block the passage of the law. Gaius Laetorius, one of the tribunes, who had unwisely harangued Appius and his family the previous day, and vowed with his life to see the law carried through, ordered the patricians to depart so that the plebeians could vote on the matter. When Appius refused to budge and argued that Laetorius had used the wrong legal formula to dismiss his opponents, Laetorius demanded his removal by force. Appius in turn sent a lictor to arrest the tribune, but the crowd protected him and turned on Appius, who was hurried out of the Forum at his colleague's urging. The next day, Quinctius, who had helped settle the crowd and managed to have the matter postponed until passions had calmed, urged the Senate to defer to the people, as the stand off between the patricians and plebeians over this issue was threatening the state itself. Appius argued that this course of action amounted to cowardice, and that the Senate was submitting itself to oppression by the plebeians. But Quinctius' argument carried the day and the Senate agreed to allow the passage of the lex Publilia. Later in the year, Appius was given command of a Roman army, and sent to fight the Volsci. Stung by his defeat at the hands of the tribunes, the consul was determined to subject his army to the harshest discipline. But his disrespect for the plebeians was so notorious that his soldiers were openly insubordinate and disobedient. They refused to attack the enemy, instead retreating to their camp, and only turning against the Volscian forces when they were attacked themselves. His officers dissuaded Appius from taking immediate action against the soldiers, but the army was attacked again and fell into disarray as it left the camp. After reaching the safety of Roman territory, Appius gathered the remnants of his army, and ordered that all of the soldiers who had lost their equipment or standards, and all of the officers who had deserted their posts should be flogged and beheaded. He then punished the remainder of the army with decimation, the earliest instance of this particular punishment occurring in Roman history. In 470 BC, Appius opposed the agrarian law originally proposed by Spurius Cassius Viscellinus, and was summoned to answer for his conduct by the plebeian tribunes, Marcus Duilius and Gnaeus Siccius. At his trial, Appius had the full support of the Senate, which viewed him as the champion of the aristocratic order. He replied to the charges with such pride, vigour and contempt that "one might have thought that he was prosecuting his accusers rather than defending himself against them." Uncertain how to proceed, the tribunes adjourned the trial. However, Appius fell ill and died before it could before it could be resumed. A eulogy was given, which the tribunes attempted to prevent. But here popular opinion was against them, so great was Appius' majesty that thousands attended his funeral and listened to the words spoken in praise of their enemy.
