Before the invention of loudspeakers, how did leaders and hosts address large groups of people, be it in the battlefield, or the Colosseum?

by halfenlightenedpanda
zaslock

Having been in a few different ancient Roman theatres I'll speak only for how they'd address crowds in a theater context. The amphitheaters are incredibly well made for acoustics. You can stand in the center and speak in a normal voice and be heard throughout the theatre.

They also used to have relayers that would know what was going to be said and repeat the information from hidden rooms underneath the seats.

Killyourpets
TheLordHighExecu

The answers seem to address how speaking to the masses worked in theatres, but how did it work on the battlefield?

Searocksandtrees

FYI, you'll find a section in the FAQ on this topic