Question

In the text, the author describes how Rome’s rostra were used to address the public. How do people go about addressing the public today? How does public speaking today compare to public speaking in ancient Rome?

Answer 1

One stands in front of a Rostrum and one stands upon the Rostra. ... During the late Republic the rostra was used as a place to display the heads of defeated political enemies. Gaius Marius and consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna captured Rome in 87 BC and placed the head of the defeated consul, Gnaeus Octavius, on the Rostra.