Conclusions

Abstract

The conclusion sums up the findings of the book and addresses the question whether the political culture of conversations could be applied to previous and later periods of Roman history. The Roman political system ran on conversation and face-to-face meetings. The main objective of this book has been to offer an extra-institutional perspective on Roman politics through the proxy of conversations and meetings. Orality has long been identified as an important component for the analysis of Roman institutions and was also crucial for the circulation of rumours and public opinion. The present book has argued that in Rome, oral communication was the default mode in politics, especially for all politics carried out outside institutions. Only when they could not reach each other in person did Roman senators and their peers resort to letters.