How do you run for political office in ancient rome?

Answer 1

First of all you need to remember that the Roman political system was very different from the present day systems. A man could not just get up one morning and decide to run for the consulship. The first thing a man had to do was reach the age of 30. Then he had to have the support of as many prominent people as possible. He had to follow the "cursus honorum" or the course of honor, which were the steps in Roman politics. At 30, he was eligible to run for the office of quaestor, when he reached 36, he could run for the office of aedile, at 39, the office of praetor and at 42 the office of consul. He had to complete those steps in political office, with the exception of the office of aedile, which was optional, but advantageous to an ambitious politician. During his campaigns he had to make speeches and put forth his political ideas just as our politicians do today. However the Roman aspiring politician always whitened his toga with talc to make him seem pure and honest. If the man had seen some type of military service, it was an advantage.