Publius Clodius Pulcher
Clodius was the youngest brother of Clodia. Following the death of Clodia's husband in 59 BC she started to openly help her brother's political career. Clodius relied on the urban population of Rome and mob violence for his political support. He was initially allied with Cicero, but they had a falling out after Clodius was put on trial for sacrilege. Plutarch claimed that Clodia sought to marry Cicero in 61 BC and that the suspicions of Terentia, Cicero's wife, caused the falling out between Cicero and Clodius. Clodius caused Cicero to be exiled for putting Roman citizens to death illegally. Cicero returned to Rome in 57 BC and his continued political disputes with Clodius ended with Clodius being killed in 52 BC by a mob of Titus Annius Milo's supporters.
Marcus Caelius Rufus was the protégé of Cicero. Clodius was able to have charges filed against Caelius; these five charges were inciting civil disturbance in Naples, assaulting Alexandrians in Pozzuoli, damaging Palla's property, the murder of Dio of Alexandria, and attempting to poison Clodia. Clodia was the chief prosecution witness against Caelius. She claimed that she loaned gold to Caelius to finance the plot and he later attempted to have her slaves poison her. Cicero defended Caelius in his Pro Caelio and accused Clodia of seeking revenge against her former lover Caelius, having poisoned Celer, and having sex with Clodius. Cicerco referred to Clodia as a "Palatine Medea"; this was in reference to the mythological character who killed her children as a form of revenge. He used femina, the polite word for married aristocratic women, twice, but used the impolite word mulier 35 times. Caelius was acquitted of the charges.
Milo was placed on trial for the death of Clodius. Clodia was not mentioned during the trial, even in Cicero's Pro Milone, and there is no record of what she did for the mourning of Clodius. A theory states that Clodia was not actively participate in the mourning due to the humiliation Cicero inflicted on her during Caelius' trial. Skinner argued that either the historical record was incomplete or that Clodia's action were not noteworthy enough or irregular to be recorded.
