Ancient Democracy: Elections
Today, as we approach the inauguration of a new president a week after an attempted coup, it seems appropriate to look back to the ancient world’s elections, voting processes, and rebellions. Like many things in modern society, it may seem as though we are going through an unprecedented time, however, similar events did occur in the past.
Ancient Rome was a republic, meaning that instead of having a monarchical leader, Roman society was controlled by elected officials.
In the early days, from around 509 B.C., candidates would be elected based on their policies rather than their public relations, personalities, and rhetoric - in fact, not only speaking but even appearing in public was banned.
Candidates were selected by the Roman Senate, and the candidates were voted for by “centuria” (assemblies) of upper class, adult men - women, slaves, children and lower class citizens did not receive the right to vote.
Within each centuria, each member had a vote that held equal weight, however in the Roman voting process, each centuria held a different weight of importance.
The whole system was extremely arbitrary, because within the “democratic” elections, a select group of wealthy male citizens were “choosing” amongst preselected, wealthy male candidates.
Besides the undemocratic voting, there was a figure, Julius Caesar (100 BC – 44 BC), who completely overrode the elections. After returning from war, he famously “crossed the Rubicon” and declared a civil war on his co-consul, Pompey. When he ultimately defeated Pompey and returned to Rome, Caesar declared himself “dictator for life” (“dictator perpetuo”). However, his reign did not last for very long, because he was killed by members of the Senate a few years afterwards.
Julius Caesar’s nephew, Emperor Augustus Caesar (27BC – 14AD), later decided to completely abolish the republic’s elections.
We can take away many valuable lessons from the mistakes of the ancient world, one showing us the importance of maintaining democracy. If democracy is lost, the many ideas, values, and cultures which our country stands for could be eliminated entirely.
Bibliography:
Elections in the late Roman Republic: how did they work?
How the Romans Voted in the Roman Republic
2021 storming of the United States Capitol