It's the power to persuade us to think what they want us to think and to see things the way they do, and even to deceive us. So how did art go from being a tool of political promotion, to being an instrument of mass deception? To find out, we need to discover just how and why imagery was first used to tell a political lie.

That weapon was invented here in Rome. 40 years before the birth of Christ, ancient Rome was on the point of collapse. For decades, a civil war had divided the city. And the city was split not just politically, but culturally, too, a split that manifested itself even in people's appearance.

It seems hard to imagine today, but it was as if you could tell everyone's political allegiancesimply by seeing how they were dressed. It would be as if today Rome were divided into two camps, each with their own distinctive uniforms. Suppose one group dressed in an old-fashioned and conservative way, they were the Republicans. They believed that the great traditional Roman family should rule Rome as they had for centuries. They dressed in traditional and austereclothes.

And suppose the other group were more like today's trendies. Although it seems strange, this group were Monarchists, they wanted to replace the traditional families with the powerful andostentatious king. They wore more flamboyant clothes to parade these exotic sympathies.

allegiance: (n.) Loyalty or the obligation of loyalty, as to a nation, sovereign, or cause. 忠诚

austere: (a.) Severe or stern in disposition or appearance; somber and grave 严厉的

trendy: (n.) One who is drawn to and represents the latest trends 领导时尚的人

Monarchist: (n.) 君主主义者

ostentatious: (a.) Characterized by or given to ostentation; pretentious. 炫耀的

flamboyant: Richly colored; resplendent. 色彩艳丽的; 灿烂辉煌的