Clodia

Clodia (klō'deu) [key], fl. 1st cent. B.C., Roman matron, famous among the ancient Romans for her beauty; sister of Publius Clodius. She was suspected of murdering her husband, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer (see Metellus, family), and she accused her lover, Marcus Caelius Rufus, of trying to murder her. According to tradition one of her many lovers was the poet Catullus; if this is true then it was she whom he immortalized as Lesbia.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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