History books on Ancient Rome
display a booming culture and society despite divisions due to class, war, and
political strife. In Rome 45 BCE we find Claudia who is the daughter of a
wealthy man in the Equestrian class and living on the Palatine Hill. A free
spirit and rambunctious child, she finds herself out of step with the class in
which she was born. She allowed her mind and her feet to wander. One day on a
rebellious adventure she happened to meet a young man named Remus, who is
classified as a plebe. Fatefully, as luck would have it, the two fall for one
another but are separated by the dividing line known as class. Class, however,
doesn’t stop this defiant girl who continues to see Remus despite what society
says and what her father would say if he were to find out.
As the two develop a
relationship and mature in the process, they begin to see the senselessness
surrounding them in their Roman society. They discuss the brute-like evil of
war repeatedly being declared by Julius Caesar. They compare their lifestyles
and note how different they are because of one reason- class. She talks of
about her background with slavery and the perplexity of its concept. The two
feel trapped in the tangled intricacies of their lives and find their selves
frustrated with the absurdity of it all. They allow themselves to be each
other’s outlet and share all their ideological stresses.
But as
events transpire and dramatic events occur in Claudia’s life her relationship
to her outlet, her love, is threatened.
