Among the Romans, Marsyas was cast as the inventor of augury and a proponent of free speech (the philosophical concept παρρησία, "parrhesia") and "speaking truth to power". The earliest known representation of Marsyas at Rome stood for at least 300 years in the Roman Forum near or in the comitium, the space for political activity. He was depicted as a "silen", carrying a wineskin on his left shoulder and raising his right arm. The statue was regarded as an "indicium libertatis", a symbol of liberty, and was associated with demonstrations of the "plebs", or common people. It often served as a sort of kiosk upon which invective verse was posted.