Who are the Patricians?

• A. The common people
• B. The soldiers
• C. Wealthy families descended from earliest Romans
• D. The priests

Answer: (C)

Patricians are the aristocratic class in early Rome—the wealthy families who traced their ancestry back to the city’s earliest founders. This lineage gave them political power in the Republic’s early centuries, including control of the Senate and influence over major offices and religious roles. Knowing this helps distinguish them from other groups: the common people were plebeians, not patricians, and being a soldier is an occupation that spanned many classes rather than defining social status. While some patricians could hold priestly positions, being a patrician specifically refers to this elite lineage and status, not to a particular profession. So the best description is the wealthy families descended from the earliest Romans.