Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

Popular Politics at Rome 

the‘‘oligarchy.’’But,moreimportantstill,thestandardformulationdoesnot
takesufficientlyintoaccountthecentralfactthatthesovereignbodyinthe
RomanrespublicawasnottheSenate,buttheRomanpeople.Romanlawsex-
pressedthisfundamentalconceptionwithperfectclarity:thetribunicianlaw
of(almostcertainly)late..hadspokenofthe‘‘nationsoutside[Italy]
whoareinthefriendshipoftheRomanpeople’’;^7 Saturninus’lawofon
maiestas(treason)defineditintermswhichCiceroreflectsinthes:tode-
tractinanywayfromthedignity(dignitas) or the greatness (amplitudo)or
thepower(potestas)ofthepeople,orofthosetowhomthepeoplehasgiven
power.^8 Andin..,when the consuls, Gabinius and Piso, passed a law
establishingtheimmunityfromtaxationofthesacredislandof Delos,the
textofthelawincorporatedthenotionthatthismeasure‘‘wasinaccordance
withthedignityandmajestyoftheRomanpeople.’’^9
Using ‘‘democracy’’ in a strictly neutral sense, it is undeniable that the
constitutionoftheRomanRepublicwasthatofadirectdemocracy.Firstly,
inRomeallofficewasconferredbyelectionintheassemblies.Oursources
reflect repeatedly the conception that officewas a favour (beneficium)con-
ferredbytheRomanpeople,somethingwhichhadtobeaskedforfromthe
people.^10 AsCiceroemphasisedinhisspeechindefenseofPlanciusof..,
itwasessentialforacandidatetopresentthepublicimageofsomeonepeti-
tioning humbly (submisse supplicare), and particularly essential for anobilis,
someonewith at least one ancestor who had already held a majoroffice.^11
Giventhispublicexpectation,itwasalsothenormthataconsul,onentering
officeonJanuary,shouldmakeaspeechofthankstothepopulacetogive
thanksforthefavourconferredonhim.^12 Itisnotforustosaythatallthis
wasmerepretence:firstly,becauseofficecouldinfactnotbegainedwithout
election,precededbythewell-knownprocessesofambitus,thatis,literally
goingaroundsolicitingvotes;and,secondly,becausethepublicideologyof
asystemisitselfafactaboutit,whichwecannotignoreifwewishtounder-
standit.ItisnoteworthythatithasnowbeendemonstratedbyAlexander

. M.Hassall,M.Crawford,andJ.Reynolds,‘‘RomeandtheEasternProvincesatthe
EndoftheSecondCenturyBC,’’JRS():,CnidosCopy,col.III,.–.
. Cic.,Inv.,.
. C.Nicoletetal.,Insula Sacra: la loi Gabinia Calpurnia de Délos ( av. J-C)(),re-
storedtextonp.,l..
. See,e.g.,Lucretius,–:‘‘Sisyphusinthislifealsoappearsbeforeoureyes,gasp-
ingtosolicitfromthepeoplethefasces[rods]andthesacredaxes,andalwaysretiressadand
defeated.’’
. Cic.,Pro Plancio–;.
. Cic.,De leg. ag.,.