Rome was not a democracy, nor did anyone think it was. When an
observer familiar with Greek political thought undertook to characterize
the Roman system of government, he made no mention of
democracy.The Greek writer Polybius, living in Rome in the second
century BC, described the Roman political system not as a democracy
but as a mixed constitution (memigmene politeia). The government
of Rome, Polybius argued, was a combination of monarchical,
aristocratic, and democratic features.