A significant component of freedom was freedom of speech, so-called parresia. It was the right of every citizen to speak out at political meetings especially in the Assembly of Citizens, just as it was his right to express his opinions without fear.

In an oral civilization where speech was the dominant mode, the influence of a politician was measured by his powers of persuasion. During the 4^thcentury B.C. political leaders were called orators, people who speak about issues regarding the city’s accomplishments, precisely because their task was to deliver speeches at the Assembly of Citizens and in the courts. However, absolute political freedom, especially in the case of the orators, bore many dangers, since they were not all righteous, neither were they always right nor were their intentions always good. Especially after the death of Pericles in 429 B.C., the Assembly tended to trust unworthy characters, and was often led astray by demagogues, which caused many contemporaries to lose respect for Athenian democracy.