Compared to modern politics, the Athenians drew relatively few distinctions and imposed few effective buffers between public opinion and decision making – either at the level of state policy formation or legal judgement. Objectivity was not considered possible or even particularly desireable. That there was a relatively direct and causal relationship between the opinion of the majority, and state policy and legal decisions is a fundamental difference between Athenian democracy and modern governmental systems. This direct and causal relationship must be a key factor in our assessment of the social function of Athenian political oratory.

Josiah Ober. Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens. Princeton 1989 (151).