RALPH: If you were a citizen in Ancient Rome -- no women or slaves allowed! -- you could vote in the general elections.

SERVILIA: But even with the male citizens, it wasn’t exactly a system of one man, one vote. The more money and land a voter had, the more weight his vote carried.

RALPH: So just like politicians today, candidates for offices in ancient Rome catered to the wealthy. Many aristocratic politicians, such as Cassius and Brutus, relied chiefly on the wealthy upperclass to win elections.

SERVILIA:  However, there were others, such as Caesar and Antony, who included the working classes as part of their political base.

RALPH:  But they weren’t appealing to the mass of the working class just for their votes.  Politicians like Caesar and Antony realized that it was hard for the government to control an angry mob.  Without the modern weapons of crowd control -- like rubber bullets and teargas -- , it would take a very large security force to put down a protest.  And because the Senate in Rome was afraid of someone seizing power with the help of their troops, soldiers were forbidden to enter the city. So the power of the mob was the power to create chaos, and somebody who has the power to sway the mob is known as a demagogue.

RALPH: The word “demagogue” had existed for centuries and originally meant a leader of the people.  But by the time of Julius Caesar, it had taken on the negative meaning which it still has today: A politician who preys on the fears and prejudices of the general population, and in the process creates hatred and conflict in society. (Think of Hitler, Mussolini, and McCarthy as 20th century examples.)

RALPH: So a politician who could convince a large group of citizens to take to the streets might very well succeed in overthrowing the officials in power. In the play, Antony claims that he’s not a very good speaker. But we know from historical accounts that Antony was good at motivating his troops on the eve of battle.  And it’s pretty clear that he gets what he wants with his funeral speech in the play: an angry mob that has turned on Brutus and is ready to rampage through the streets of Rome.  As you study his speech, keep an eye out for the strategies he uses to take a crowd that has been calmed down by Brutus to a mob that’s ready to burn Rome to the ground.