sentences:  The ordinances were passed against the background of political and social conflict between powerful aristocrats and the ordinary citizens or "popolares", and may have been a conscious imitation of the punishments meted out to overmighty aristocrats in the Roman Republic 1,300 years previously, when those suspected of aiming at tyranny risked not only execution but the destruction of their homes as well.This act was seen as a symbolic destruction of the offender's family and social status.To the Romans, the home was more than just a possession; it was a sacred space protected by the Di Penates (household gods) and was a focus for personal honour.