Claudia was an ancient Roman

Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty from several s ...

and the daughter of Appius Claudius Pulcher,

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in 143 BC. She intervened to save her father from attack by a group of

plebeians In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the Capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Et ...

. The crowd attempted to drag him from his chariot during the celebration of his

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

, but Claudia interposed herself between her father and the attackers and accompanied her father up to the capital.

References

{{Reflist *Valerius Maximus, ''Factorum at dictorum memorabilium libri'' V.4.6 2nd-century BC Roman women Vestal Virgins Claudii Pulchri