Society in the Era of the Republic

The Roman population was divided into two groups: patricians and plebians.
The patricians were the descendants of the most ancient and powerful families, they were landowners, while the plebians were mainly artisans or peasants who worked the patricians' land. The latter had the political power; the plebians, instead, had no political rights.
The two classes were quite divided: the patricians married and did business only with the people of their class. The plebians could narrow the gap between the two classes only in one way: by becoming clients (obedient servants) of a patrician family.
They offered their services and so received the protection of the head of the patrician family, who became their patron.