Gracchi
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The Gracchi were a Patrician family of ancient Rome. (The word "gracchus" means grackle or blackbird) The most notable members were:
- The elder Tiberius Gracchus Major or Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, who was consul in 177 BC and married Cornelia Africana, the daughter of Scipio Africanus Major, who was the archetype of the ideal Roman matron[citation needed]
- His elder son, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, tribune in 133 BC
- The younger son of the consul, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, also tribune in 123 and 122 BC
- Both Brothers were denied the position of Senator, which in turn inspired them to support the Plebians[citation needed]
The Gracchi brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, went down in history as martyrs to the cause of social reform.[citation needed] Tiberius was killed by members of the Roman Senate for running for the office of Tribune two years in a row which was against the law. His major contribution was attempting to make the system friendlier to the lower classes of Rome.[citation needed] They tried to limit the size of the large farms that the patricians (upper class) owned to keep the plebeians (lower class) able to compete with their smaller farms.[citation needed]
Gaius and many of his followers were killed in 121 BC because the Senate felt threatened by his ideas and he convinced the Senate to take over the sale of wheat and sell it far below market value to the plebeians after a few years almost one out of every plebeian was getting free wheat.[citation needed]
The Gracchi were connected through marriage to the Scipiones, Cornelii, Claudii, and Aemilii.
Fictional Gracchi also appear in many epic films, such as Spartacus (1960) and Gladiator (2000).[citation needed]
People named after them are Julien Gracq[citation needed] and Gracchus Babeuf.
