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The true origin of the distinction between plebeians and Patricians is unknown; there is little evidence for any sort of a racial basis, nor many signs of a distinction during the Time Of The Kings . However, the populace of the city of Rome during the reigns of Romulus , Numa Pompilius , and Tullus Hostilius were all called ''patrician'' as they were the only inhabitants of Rome. It is during the reign of Ancus Marcius that the Plebians came to Rome from diplomatic alliances as secondary citizens. In any case, around the time of the foundation of the Roman Republic , the plebeians were excluded from religious colleges and magistracies, and the law of the Twelve Tables disallowed intermarriage (which was finally allowed by the Lex Canuleia .) At the same time, plebeians were enrolled in the '' Gentes '' and tribes, served in the army, and could become military Tribune s. Even so, the " Conflict Of The Orders " over the political status of the plebeians went on for the first two centuries of the Republic, ending with the formal equality of plebeians and patricians in 287 BC . The plebeians achieved this by developing their own organizations (the '' Concilium Plebis ''), leaders (the Tribune s and plebeian Aedile s), and as the ultimate weapon used the '' Secessio '', by which the plebeians would literally leave Rome, effectively boycotting the city. This is recorded to have happened five times, although only the last (in 287) is believed to be accurately documented. Later on, "plebeian" came to mean the poorer members of society in general. During the Empire it was often used of anyone not in the senatorial or equestrian orders. The word lives on in ''plebe'', the term for a Freshman at the U.S. Military Academy , U.S. Naval Academy , Valley Forge Military Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy . (The term at the U.S. Air Force Academy is one step lower still: ''doolie'', from δοῦλος (doulos), the Greek word for "slave.") In British and Australian English ''pleb'' continues in use as a derogatory term for someone inferior, common or ignorant, who may be described as ''being a pleb'', ''plebby'' or a ''plebhead''. See also: Pikey . EXTERNAL LINK |
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