The patricians were the landowning aristocrats who served as priests, magistrates, lawyers, and judges; and the plebians were the poorer class who were craftspeople, merchants, and laborers (Wasson). In republican Rome, every plebian chose a patrician as his patron whose duty it was to represent the plebian in any matter of law and helps in other matters such as economically. This paternalistic relationship, which we call patronage, reflected the family’s main role in Roman culture. The pater, “father,” protected not only his family but also his clients, who submitted to his patronage. In return for the pater’s protection, thefamily and client equally owed the pater their total obedience, which the Romans referred to as pietas, “dutifulness.”
