The Roman Republic
,b).Theimpliedcontrastiswithappointmentbylot,whichplayedno
roleinRome—exceptofcourseinthevitalareaofthedistributionofprov-
inces.Butinthefifth-centuryAtheniandemocracy,towhichappointment
bylotwasfundamental,thepeople,sotheOldOligarchobserved(,),none
thelesshadthesensetofillthemajormilitaryofficesofthestrategiaandthe
hipparchiabyelection,andtoleavethemtotheirsocialsuperiors.
The voting behaviour of the Atheniandemos(and the self-selection of
candidatesforthestrategia?)inthefirsttwo-thirdsorsoofthefifthcentury
clearlydid in fact exhibit a marked class bias, as is shown not least by the
reactiontotheriseofthe‘‘newpoliticians’’inthePeloponnesianWar.^51 But
itwouldbequitewrongtodrawfromtheevidentfactofdeferentialvoting
theconclusionthatAthensoftheearlierfifthcenturywasnotademocracy.
ToraisethesamequestionaboutRomeinthefirsthalfofthesecondcen-
tury is not of course to assert an identity,oreven close resemblance. It is
toaskwhetherwehavenotmisconstruedthecharacterofrepublicanpoli-
ticsbynottakingseriouslyenoughthedemocraticelementwhichPolybius
believedhimselftohaveobserved.
TheDemocraticElementandItsLimitsintheClassicalRepublic
TwoofthethreeelementswhichPolybiusdiscoveredintherepublicanpo-
liticalsystemarehardlycontroversialtoday.Firstly,noonewilldisputethe
‘‘monarchic’’ power wielded by consuls and praetors, proconsuls and pro-
praetors,whenactuallyinthefield.Evenso,Ihavetriedtoindicatetheex-
tentoftheirrealdependence,invariousways,onSenateandpeople(seetext
to nn. –). Nor will anyone dispute the ‘‘aristocratic’’ (not, it should be
noted,‘‘oligarchic’’)element,namelythecentralityoftheroleoftheSen-
ate.Totalkof itasa‘‘government,’’^52 however,isquitemisleading;forthe
termitselfisanachronisticwhenappliedtoanancientcity-state.Butonthe
otherhandNicolethasemphasizedinimportantrecentworkthatitisalso
unrealistictoseealltheSenate’sfunctionsas‘‘advisory.’’^53 Itsvotesproduced
effectivedecisionson(forinstance)theprovincestobefilledeachyear,the
sizeoftheforcestoberaised,theanswerstobegiventoembassiesandthe
awardoftriumphs.Itisindeedpreciselyinsuchareasthatoursourcesshow
itdebating,andprovidinganarenaforpersonalconflicts,inamanneranalo-
. SeeW.R.Connor,The New Politicians of Fifth-Century Athens().
. So,perhapssurprisingly,evenM.I.Finley,Politics in the Ancient World(),.
. C.Nicolet,Rome et la conquête du monde méditerranéen – avant J.-C.I:les structures
de l’Italie romaine(),ff.