Yet there were no Roman equivalents of the Greek terms isēgoría and parrhēsía. Roman free speech was first and foremost exercised in the Senate, by magistrates before assemblies, and by orators before the courts, where, as in Athens, political speech would often be interwoven with legal arguments. For men like Cicero and Caesar, oratory was an essential way to further their political careers. Had Caesar not been a brilliant orator, he may not have become a brilliant general—or dictator.
