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Ltryptophan's avatar

If we could see a video of the Roman senate what would the senators demeanor and physical actions tell us about them?

Asked by Ltryptophan (12091points) June 1st, 2012

I’ve seen movies where the senators are portrayed as very regal acting. How did these men walk? Were they extremely civil, or drunken? Do we have some quotes from Cicero, et al that can give us a sort of video of a senate meeting?

How different are we? How different is our senate? Would the Roman senators arrive in the fanciest cars, wearing the best clothes? If we made a roman senator a US Senator, how would he act? Would the other Senators be at a disadvantage or a significant advantage? How far have we come on a interpersonal level since Rome? Surely civility has increased, right?

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2 Answers

tedd's avatar

I like to think we’ve advanced past the legislative body that made sacrifices before every meeting, and murdered Julius Caesar on the stage mid-session.

Fun fact I learned researching this….. Senate, derives from the Latin Senex, which means Old Man…. thus Senate means something along the lines of “Assembly of old men.”

tedd (14088points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
tranquilsea's avatar

One difference I can think of is that our elected officials can have the confidence that they won’t be murdered by their fellow senators if they push an agenda that is unpopular.

Poor Cicero was finally murdered when they wanted regime change.

tranquilsea (17775points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…

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