Clodia (wife of Metellus)

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Clodia, often known in modern scholarship as Clodia Metelli (Clodia, the wife of Metellus), (c. 97–95 BCE – after 45 BCE) was a Roman patrician and member of the Claudia gens, whose members held multiple high-ranking political offices. As the wife of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer and sister of Publius Clodius Pulcher, Clodia was involved in Roman politics. Cicero, who was a political enemy of Clodius, is the only contemporary source for Clodia and his depiction of her varies greatly between his public and private writing. Born to Appius Claudius Pulcher, Clodia married Celer between c. 82–79 BCE. She started to openly support her brother's political career following the death of her husband. Clodia was the chief prosecution witness in the trial of Cicero's protégé, Marcus Caelius Rufus. Cicero gave his Pro Caelio against Clodia in this trial. The poet Catullus wrote poems featuring Lesbia, which Ovid and Apuleius said was a pseudonym. Lesbia is frequently considered to have been Clodia...

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