2-705-862 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Virginius kills his Daughter Virginia', mid 18th century. In 452 AD, the senate of Rome appointed a commission to write down a code of law, which was led by Appius Claudius. Abusing his position of authority, Appius Claudius tried to force the daughter of a plebeian named Lucius Verginius into slavery, prompting her father to kill her, (the only way he felt he could uphold her freedom). The scandal caused a popular uprising, resulting in the commission's resignation. From a work about Roman history.