The Exercise of Power in the Roman Republic

Though we are currently experiencing the son of a former President, now acting President, this is not common in our society. This is a much different experience for the Roman Republic. Often, it was your family and its history that was being elected into office. The power came from your family, more than the individual. It was almost predetermined that if you father was in public office, that the son would reach as far as his father. What made this fair was it was not an exclusive right. Many “new men” reached offices that their fathers did not rise to and their sons never achieved.
You were predisposed to success in public office if your father had held it before you. The higher position your father held, the more likely it was that you would be successful in your quest of public office. You lineage was so import that even “new men” tried to tie themselves to someone whom had been successful in the past. What appeared to be unique about this, less importance was plac...