Blog Day Forty-Six: Patricians Vs. Plebeians

Today for class we were asked to answer two questions. Here are my answers.

What were the main differences between Roman plebeians and patricians?
Roman plebeians were the common people of Rome, they were the farmers, artisans, and merchants that made up most of the Roman population. Whereas, Roman patricians were the upper class citizens of Rome, the wealthy landowners who held most of the political power in Rome. One main difference between these two groups in Rome was their roles in the Republic. The patricians held all the major leadership roles and also made laws so that plebeians were unqualified for those positions. Plebeians were allowed to make their own assembly so that they were protected against unfair laws that the patricians made against them. Another difference would be the amount of money each group had. As the upper class citizens, the patricians had more money and usually money equals power, which would explain why they were allowed to have so uhc of it in the Republic. The plebeians would money, but not as much as the patricians would have. The difference between these two group can still be seen in today's culture.
What were the Greek versions of patricians and plebeians?
The Greek versions of the patricians were the aristocrats in Greek society. The aristocrats were the rich and elite members of society. They were also the members of the ruling class. The plebeians of Greek society were called non-aristocratic, or middle class Athenians. Those that were included in that title were free male property owners, only 1/5 of the population. Like the plebeians, the non-aristocratic citizens in Greece had to follow all the laws that the aristocrats made. The aristocrats and middle class citizens of Greece were very similar to the patricians and plebeians of Rome.